Pokémon: GSC Generations
by Reptro
Summary: Jump into the adventures of Kai Wexler, an honest 15-year-old trainer whose fierce determination is tempered only by his reserved attitude. He aims to become a Pokémon Master, but his heart desires more than prestige. His usual journey takes an unusual spin when he meets 10-year-old Aster Violet, a lively girl that simply desires to live life to the fullest. Updated every Friday!
1. The New Generation! Meet Kai Wexler!

**Chapter 1: The New Generation! Meet Kai Wexler!**

Planet Earth, a small green marble in space that supports biological life, and one of countless specks in the grand scheme of the universe that serve similar roles. What truly makes earth different is the fragile yet elegant balance between the planet's two intelligent beings: those called humans and those called Pokémon. For centuries, humans and Pokémon have shared a unique companionship that transcends blood, one of the many phenomenon of life. Yet it is the brightest light that harbors the deepest shadows. Even so, light shines the brightest in the deepest darkness. For every shadowy abyss, there is a brilliant light waiting to shine...

* * *

 _As he broke through the wind, he felt a piercing cold engulf him, his Arcanine's unrivaled velocity breaking the sound barrier itself. He reached out to touch the Pokémon's mane, bright as the sun in the shroud of blackness. The Pokémon turned around, smiling in a way that made him feel both saddened and brave in a single jolt. The man simply smirked, and then the black veil engulfed him._

* * *

The scream of a young child rang through the house. Normally, the parents would take turns lulling their child to sleep so the other could sleep soundly, but neither could ignore the shriek of terror.

The child's mother slammed open the door, and let out a sigh of relief when she saw that her angel had been done no harm. The father put his arms around his wife, and she gave him a quick glance before picking up her wailing baby from the crib.

"It's okay Kai, mommy's here," she smiled. The baby continued to sniffle, but the warmth of his mother was calming, and her serenade slowly silenced his tears.

"And nobody is gonna mess with your dad, the Pokémon Master!" the father said triumphantly but rather loudly, earning him another glance from his wife.

The baby's eyes began to close, set on the image of his mother's smile.

* * *

Kai shot up from bed, his eyes scanning his room for his pidgey alarm clock. He reached out for the plug as soon as he found the clock, stretching to the tip of his toes. _For the love of...shut...oh sh-_

Kai lost his balance, landing on the side of his bed head first. He laid down for a moment. _I knew that stuff was trippy-no more Moo Moo Milk-ever._

He stared out the sole window in his room, the tranquil morning sunlight penetrating the walls of his house, and the breeze making the branches outside his window rustle with vigor.

Suddenly, his Pokémon fell onto his lap, the force of which knocked him over again. The orange-maned Pokémon licked him ferociously, but Kai mustered enough strength to get on his feet and pick up his Pokémon. "What did I say about licking me in the face, Growlithe?" Kai said with a tired sigh.

Growlithe panted, tail wagging with excitement as Kai put him down and went to his room's door. He glanced around one more time, noticing his graduation cap and tassel were still on his bed. _Must have slept with the tassel on._

"So where's pops, Growlithe?" Kai asked. Growlithe barked, its black nose lined up in the direction of the door. Kai turned back around to the door, grabbing a yellow post-it note he hadn't seen earlier. " _Breakfast is downstairs, kiddo...come to my shop to pick up your gear when ready."_

Kai looked at Growlithe, the Pokémon happy as ever, and then nodded. "Right, today's the big day."

* * *

New Bark Town remains far and away from the largest city in the Johto region, but the bustling streets of vehicles and residents hardly indicate a village. The small urban sprawl serves as the first rite of passage for all Pokémon trainers in Johto and the gates to every Pokémon trainer's final destination-the Indigo Plateau. And so, in this big _town_ with an even bigger reputation, Kai and his Growlithe made their way to Tess & Kyle's Trainer Goods...

* * *

Growlithe paced down the street, sniffing every corner of the pavement as if treats lined the concrete. Kai followed quietly behind, his backpack straddling on his shoulders. The sunlight had backed into the clouds, but the wind huffed and puffed with as much persistence as it did an hour ago.

His teeth clattering, Kai put his hood on. Kai sighed as his thoughts went back to his impending journey. He thought of the things he would do, the people he would meet, the challenges he would face. For a moment, he even seemed to be victorious against the league's champion. _I don't think I've ever seen the champion's face...then again, champions-_

Kai's heart nearly skipped a beat when the horns of an oncoming truck brought him back to reality. "Man, I hope I didn't overshoot the walk. Nah, the shop is still a block away, Growl-", but Growlithe was gone.

Frantically, Kai turned his head in multiple directions, before noticing his Pokémon's trademark red bandana in a crowd of pedestrians crossing the street. Kai followed in pursuit while the traffic signal remained green, pushing by people and apologizing profusely with each reaction. He saw Growlithe ferociously parading down the sidewalk.

As Kai huffed and his eyes watered from the whipping of the morning wind, he slowly closed the gap between his Pokémon and himself. "Growl-" His eyes focused on his Pokémon for a split second, he had little time to react to the girl in his path, bumping into her and sending a jumble of papers flying into the air.

"Ow, Hey!" the girl cried, rubbing her head. "Help me get those papers! They're important!" She bounced up, grabbing as many papers as she could and stuffing them into her red purse.

"Oh, I-Sorry," Kai apologized, grabbing papers all the while. He glanced at her for a moment. She glanced back momentarily, looking red-faced. Grabbing the last paper he could find, Kai noticed bystanders were muttering and pointing fingers at them. He reached down to grab her glasses and handed them back to her.

"Thanks," she said quietly, adjusting her spectacles and dusting off her clothes.

"H-Hey, I'm seriously sorry about that," Kai said, kneeling. The crowd watched in curious awe.

"W-what are you doing, idiot?!" she shouted, looking at Kai restlessly.

Kai stood back up, scratching his head. "You know, you could at least ask if I'm okay."

"It was _your_ fault," she retorted. "You should be the one asking. Whatever, I h-have to be somewhere!" With that, she sprinted off into the crowd.

"Wait! You forgot one of your papers!" but she was gone. Kai folded the paper and put it in his jeans pocket. _Forgot! Shoot, Growlithe!"_ Kai dashed in the direction he last saw Growlithe sniffing vivaciously. Recognizing the red bandana not far ahead, he ran towards it. _That red bandana sticks out like an Electabuzz in a field of Scyther._

He sighed in relief when he saw Growlithe hunched over on its back, getting a belly rub from a cheery little girl in a brown fedora with a golden feather tip. Next to them, he saw a empty bag of peanuts. Groaning, he leaned over to them. "Sorry about that. Growlithe has a weakness for peanuts." Growlithe rolled over and got up, tail wagging in agreement.

Kai rolled his eyes. "You're not gonna pacify me with that look."

The girl in the hat giggled, standing up. "He's adorable! I just wanna grab him and make him dance!" She skipped around, and with a clumsy spin, she turned back to Kai and smiled. "Name's Aster, young man!" She said with a tip of her fedora, the golden feather of which caught Kai's eye for a moment.

"Young man?" Kai asked, rather uninterested in conversation.

"You look like a young man," Aster giggled, grabbing his hand and dragging him along several feet before he undid her grasp. She gave him a frown. "Hey, you're taking me to the ice cream shop, young man! You owe me for the bag of peanuts your little thief took from my bag!"

Kai raised an eyebrow. "Look, I don't owe you anything for making me run nearly a block to find my Growlithe, so-" _What is she doing?_

"Pleaseeeeeee?" she was on her knees, feet crossed and lips pouting. "Pleease take me, big bro!" Growlithe joined her, puppy eyes and all. _Not both of them! Ugh._

"Big bro?" Kai looked around and noticed a crowd of bystanders were looking at him distastefully. He groaned, taking her hand. _She's messing with me! Isn't she?_ Growlithe barked, running circles around Kai and Aster. "Alright, but we gotta stop by my dad's shop first so I can-"

"Buy me ice cream?" Aster giggled uncontrollably.

" _No!_ I'm going on a journey," Kai retorted. _Why bother telling her that anyway?_

She stopped, backing up and making a camera lens with her hands. "No you're not dirty enough to be a Pokémon trainer."

" _going_ to," he groaned, scratching his head. _And is being dirty enough even a thing?_ Kai gazed at the girl's hat. _That feather...why does it look so familiar?_ "What's with the feather? I don't know what it is, but I get the feeling you shouldn't be keeping it out like that."

Aster passed him a smug look. "Why-you wanna _steal_ it?"

Ignoring her accusation, Kai gave the feather another good look before it hit him. _I think I know what that is, but only dad knows for sure! But if it is-_ "I would put that thing aw-" Suddenly, Kai felt the push of an arm on his back, nearly throwing him off balance. He immediately shot his eyes back in Aster's direction, hearing the pattering of swift footsteps and Aster shrieking.

"My hat!" Aster whined, trying to run after him, but the thief, donning a pair of shades and a black beanie, had already widened the gap between them. She ran back over to Kai, yanking his hoodie. "Get my hat, big bro!"

 _Just great!_ Kai darted forward without a second thought, leaving Growlithe and Aster behind. The thief, still a sizable amount of pavement ahead, tried shaking off Kai with lateral movement, but Kai continued to gain. Pushing by people faster than he could apologize, Kai's running slowed to a fast walk in the midst of the crowd, but he still had his sights set on the black beanie, also waddling through the sea of people on the crosswalk.

"Hey, I'm just...trying...to make a living...maniac!" the thief yelled out to Kai in gasps of air, forcing his way out of the cluster of people and onto the other sidewalk. Out of breath, the thief broke into short sprinting spurts in a huff. The jerk of his jacket pulled him backwards, into the hands of Kai, who hardly seemed out of breath.

Kai sat him down by his collar near the crosswalk by the intersection, away from the morning crowd. "Well I guess that year of cross country did something for me," Kai said, taking a deep breath. He took the hat from the thief. "Mind telling me what that feather is all about?"

"Fine, since you caught me, but I'm not telling you about my identity," he said gruffly.

"I don't know and I don't care," Kai crossed his arms, "now tell me."

"Big Bro!" Aster yelled from the crosswalk. Growlithe was right behind her. As she rushed down the crosswalk, she seemed to be yelling at the thief, who simply put his hand on his head.

Kai heard the blare of a horn as a trucker sharply turned the corner of the intersection-only it didn't seem to be waiting for the people on the crosswalk. "Stop, _wait_!" Kai vaulted towards Aster and Growlithe without regard for the truck, putting both his arms out and pushing them as far away from the speeding truck. A sharp pain suddenly hit him on his forehead and sides, and he felt himself hurdling over to the side of the crosswalk. Although he could not see very well, he could hear the shouting of a crowd of people and the horns of the truck fading away as the world around him unconsciously seemed to fade to black.

* * *

 **Author's Note [6-12-2015]:**

First and foremost, thank you for reading the 1st chapter of what will be an entertaining adventure story all the way to chapter 50. I appreciate read and reviews and I welcome constructive criticism because writing is a subjective art that will produce a variety of objective opinions.

First of all, I'd like to get one thing out of the way: this story is set in _a universe where neither Red nor Ash exist._ You could say I have created my own Pokémon continuity. To prevent future plot hole tags, I'd like to note a few things:

-Yes, animals and Pokémon exist in my universe. As I said above, Pokémon are mysterious creatures that boast an intelligence capacity similar to humans

-Countries such as the United States, Germany, and Japan exist, but they are fictionalized versions of those countries and they all have Pokémon. This story is set in the Johto region of Japan.

-Although there are cultures and people still identify themselves by their country, there is only one real ethnicity: the people of the Pokémon world. Basically, the world has been Pokémonized.

If I missed anything and something annoys you in the future, please post your questions in review form or send me a PM. My setting is not fundamental for a Pokémon story, but it is _my unique_ writing style.

 **GSC Generations will receive an update every Friday. Most importantly, please enjoy this story for what it is: a classic adventure entertainer with my own twists.**


	2. The First Friendship! Meet Aster Violet!

**Chapter 2: The First Friendship! Meet Aster Violet!**

 _As he felt the bite of the icy current of air around him, he shuddered, a chill running down his spine. His vision blurred with tears, he gazed down at his hands, coated in red. Around him was a black veil, with darkness as far as his eyes could see. Regret._

 _Regr_ _et for what?_

 _"Fool...you cannot stop me...you will never stop me!" a sinister voice boomed around him. "Your brightest light harbors my deepest darkness!"_

 _His Arcanine turned to him, smiling with a steady assurance that amazed and saddened him. Wiping his tears, he forced himself to grin. "I'll gladly take you out with a smile...if it means they can live happily!" He bellowed till his throat hurt, his Arcanine accelerating faster towards darkness. They._

 _Who is They?_

 _Why do I care for them so much? Why do I regret?_

 _A sudden sharp pain overwhelmed me, but I continued to bear a smirk. Why?_

 _"You fool...your own nature will be your demise...I will be back!"_

 _"Light shines brightest in the deepest darkness...I'll be waiting!"_ _I screamed loudly while Arcanine roared with all its might._

* * *

Kai shot up, screaming with a mix of emotions. Suddenly, the sharp sting of a hand hit his cheek. He looked at his hands: bandaged up but trembling as fast as the racing of his heart. He looked around frantically, still breathing wildly. He looked back when the jerking of a familiar hand brought him forward, grasping him into a warm embrace.

"A-A-Aster?" Kai said, his voice hoarse. Kai shot up, his eyes wide, but his legs trembled. Unable to balance properly, Kai fell off his bed, hitting the floor. "Ow! W-where the heck am I? Where's Growlithe?" Kai's vision paced the white room.

"Y-you're at the hospital!" Aster stood up.

"Hospital?!" Kai blurted loudly, before taking a deep breath and sitting down. "That bad, huh?"

"Yeah, guess so." Aster giggled, then put out her hand. "I have something to say."

 _Okay Kai, let her down easy._ Kai gazed at her. Her hands folded and legs crossed, she grinned at him in a way that would put even the spookiest of gengar to shame. "If you have something on your mind, just come out with it." He gulped. "You don't owe me anything for what I did. I just did it because I thought it was the right thing to do." He glanced down at his bandaged hands once more. _There. All said and done._

Aster continued to smile with her eyes closed. She then reached out her hand to Kai and gave him a slap on the back of his head-a very hard slap. "Ouch! What's your deal?!"

"You're an idiot, you know that?" She walked out of the room quietly, slamming the door behind her.

Kai exhaled silently, staring at the door. _Hopefully she's out of my hair for good. She was getting a little annoying._

Suddenly, the door creaked open again. This time, an elderly man in a white coat walked in, a younger women-probably his nurse-behind him with a clipboard in hand. Behind her came Growlithe, who pounced onto the bed without second thought and cuddled into Kai's arm. "Missed you too, buddy," Kai said while giving his pet a rubdown.

"We're glad to see you're awake, Mr. Wexler," the doctor said with a cordial smile. "You've been asleep for almost a day and a half."

"Thanks, but you can call me Kai," Kai replied _._ "Mr. Wexler's my pops. So what are my injuries all about? As far as I know, I'm feeling pretty okay."

"You have a few scrapes, some bone bruising around your waist, and a possible concussion," the doctor responded. "The good news is, you've recovered pretty quickly and you'll be able to leave the hospital first thing tomorrow. You are going to have to stay around New Bark Town for a few days so we can monitor your concussion, but for the most part, you'll be good to go as long as you don't run into anymore trucks.

"Hey, it's not like truck jumpin' is my lifelong passion or anything," Kai retorted, rolling his eyes. "and how do you know that?"

The doctor reached over to the room's medicine counter and picked up what appeared to be a newspaper. Folding it neatly, he gave it to Kai, pointing at the front page. The first page of the newspaper read: '15-year-old boy run over by crazy driver.' Kai looked up at the doctor and nurse, mouth wide open. The doctor simply smiled while Kai could've sworn the nurse was shaking behind her clipboard. _Wait, so that's what they get from that? Why am I not surprised at all by this?_

"By the way, where's that little girl?" the doctor asked. "You know, the one with the brown hair, yellow dress, and the old-fashioned fedora hat with the golden feather on it? _Why would he even expect me to know it? I just woke up from a day-old coma._

"You know, I think I saw her stomping by the front desk and into the hospital courtyard just a few minutes ago," the nurse noted. "Can't imagine why she'd leave now. She was in this room like Slowpoke on Shellder last night."

Kai raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"She was here all day and all night, honey!" the nurse shrugged. "Wouldn't stop crying over you for a good bit of time, and she talked to you constantly."

 _Aster wouldn't? Are we talking about the same girl here? I don't feel so good suddenly._ Growlithe scratched Kai's hands with his paws, getting his master's attention. The Pokemon barked twice, after which Kai turned his attention back to the doctor and nurse. "I have to go see her." Kai nearly blasted off his bed, but he was brought down by the doctor.

"No, first you need some shots. If you will, nurse?"

Kai's eyes widened. "No _thank you!_ "

* * *

Meanwhile, at the courtyard, young Aster was perched under a tree. The sun shined with serenity on the late afternoon, and the breeze blew softly. There, she sat quietly, staring into the sky from underneath the shade until...

* * *

"Stupid Kai," she said with puffed cheeks. "He's such a doduo brain!"

"That he can be sometimes, can't he?" a voice said in front of Aster. "Nice feather by the way."

He reached out for the feather and caressed it, making her immediately jump. "Kai-oh wait. Who are you, mister?"

"He gets mistaken for me a lot, but that's the first time I've been mistaken for him!" the man put out his hand and pulled Aster up. "Name's Kyle. You're Kai's little babysitter, aren't you?"

Aster crossed her arms, then looked back at Kyle. He had a warm smile on his face. _I wonder if Kai would look like that when he smiled._ They did look pretty similar. Except for the day-old beard and the wrinkles, they both shared the same brown eyes and scruffy black hair. She smiled back at him. "I guess." He sat down next to her, and she went back to looking at the sky. "So tell me something, Mr. Wexler: has Kai always been a doduo brain?"

Kyle laughed. "First off, just Kyle." He looked up at the sky along with her. "He takes after his mother. Super honest, but super naive, or a _'doduo brain'_ , if that's what you wanna call it."

Aster thought about what Kyle had said for a moment, then turned to look at him. "Then how do I make him my friend?"

Kyle put his hand on her hand. "Just be your usual, wacky self. Kai could use a friend like you. That idiot son of mine doesn't know how to make friends any more than a caterpie would know how to use the battle move 'Sky Attack'!"

Aster looked at him blankly, then started giggling. "I'm gonna go visit doduo brain!"

Kyle smiled, then glanced down at his watch. "I'm gonna go make sure the missus is okay. I'll probably get flowers like you did!" He walked away humming.

Aster scratched her head. "Flowers?"

* * *

Kai groaned, lying on the bed stomach first. He then looked over at the table next to the bed. _Roses. Did Aster bring me roses?_ "That's cute," he said out loud.

Growlithe barked, then turned its head to Kai and smiled. A chill ran through Kai's spine when he realized the image presented before him. "G-Growlithe?"

Growlithe gazed at Kai, eyes focused, to which Kai responded with an understanding nod and gulped. He hardly felt comfortable bringing it up again. "H-have you been seeing it all this time as well?"

The Pokemon nodded quietly, holding on to Kai's arm with its paws. He could feel his heart racing. He rubbed his hands over Growlithe, and could have sworn his Pokemon was shaking with the same intensity as his own heartbeat.

 _I don't know if this is the time, but I have to know._ "Did you feel like you were the arcanine in the dream, Growlithe?"

Growlithe stared at Kai. Their silence was broken by the loud creaking of the door. Aster skipped into the room, a gleeful smile on her face.

"Hey," Aster said with a smile.

"Yo," Kai replied.

Growlithe bounced off the bad, tail wagging with excitement. The Pokemon licked Aster's face as she sat down on the armchair in the room. Aster giggled uncontrollably. "Stop! No Please!"

Kai sighed, taking Aster's hand. "I'm sorry. I guess I can be an idiot sometimes-"

"All the time," Aster corrected.

" _All_ the time," Kai said with a groan. _Does she have to make this so hard?_

"Call yourself a doduo brain, and we're good," Aster said with a smirk.

"Fine, I'm a doduo brain," Kai replied mockingly. "Who even helped you come up with that?"

"Your dad." Aster grinned, pushing Kai on the back.

"Look, Aster," Kai began, "when I said what I said, it was because I didn't want to burden you with the guilt of the whole accident thing. It _really_ wasn't your fault, and I didn't want you to feel like you had to give me anything for what I did. I did it because I wanted to. I did it because-"

Aster put her hands in his face, shaking her head. "I get it, idiot," she said quietly, a soft smile on her face. She then looked down at her feet, crossing them and let out a giggle. "I've never done this before."

Kai nodded and turned his head to her, still lying on his stomach. She looked at him. "Will you be my first friend, Aster?"

Aster jumped onto Kai, making him moan loudly in pain. "Yes! Yes-"

"Shots on my butt!" Kai yelled with a groan.

"Sorry!"

* * *

A few days passed and Kai's journey truly began. With the trainer kit from his father's shop and a backpack full of supplies, Kai and Aster were about to leave New Bark Town for a very long time.

* * *

"You got everything, guys?" Kyle asked, checking Kai's backpack and Aster's purse. "If you head out now, you should be able to reach Cherrygrove City by noon."

"Yeah, we got it, pops," Kai said with a nod. "Register at Cherrygrove, fight the 1st gym leader at Violet City, return Aster to her family in Violet City."

"You're set, champ in the making." Kyle patted his son on the back, then leaned in closer. "Can't say I'm gonna miss you, because I expect to hear about you very soon. You've got the DNA of a champion. Go out there-and do what I couldn't do."

 _He has 5 league titles._ "What do you mean?" Kai asked, scratching his head.

"You'll figure it out," Kyle said with a smirk. "Take care of Kai, Aster. And son?"

"Your son is safe with me, mister Kyle!" Aster said with a giggle, while Kai rolled his eyes.

And so, Kai, Growlithe, and Aster set off, Kyle waving them off until they were out of sight. Kyle sighed. _There he goes. Hope he doesn't forget to call the me and the missus._

* * *

As evening came, Kyle locked up shop, and focused on the sunset. He held a cardboard package in his hand, his grip tightly woven around it. _It wasn't my place to tell them. Not today. Not yet. When they get to Violet City, HE will be the first to let them know._ Kyle began to walk home, but his mind still remained on the same thought. "When will I know if the time is right?"

* * *

 **Author's Note [6-19-15]**

And so, here is chapter 2! With a little bit of the character development out of the way, we can focus on the start of Kai and Aster's journey. As usual, a new chapter will be uploaded every Friday.

Please R & R with your thoughts, comments, questions, and criticisms!


	3. A Thief's Honor! Meet Roy!

**Chapter 3:** **A Thief's Honor! Meet Roy!**

Having registered for the pokémon league in Cherrygrove City, Kai and Aster are now headed north-towards Violet City, the city of nostalgic scents-and the location of Kai's first gym badge. Little do the two of them know that they are being actively pursued by an old assailant.

* * *

"Do you know how much farther up ahead we have to go, Aster?" Kai asked. "I'm getting tired of seeing nothing but trees and grass." _Also, where are all the pokémon? So far, all I've seen are birds and bugs._

Aster looked around the area like spearow would their prey, then turned to Kai. "We're almost around the area with the cave thingy."

"The cave thingy?"

"Now I'm not so sure," Aster said, scratching her head. "Thanks _a lot_ , Kai!"

Kai fell over, then immediately stood up and glared at her. "You're telling me we're lost?"

"Oh come on, it's not so bad!" she continued walking backwards. Kai noticed she was backing into the tall grass that surrounded the area.

"Idiot! Step away from the tall grass!"

Suddenly, a loud chirp came from behind, making her fall away from the tall grass. When she looked back, she saw the brown and cream-colored bird face up, making her squeal. "Catch this one! _Please?_ "

Kai scratched his head. "What?"

"Pidgey are so cute!"

"Growlithe, go!" Kai tossed his pokéball next to him. The red and white capsule lit up, and out came Growlithe. "How you feeling, buddy?"

Growlithe barked at Kai, then turned to the pidgey and barked several times at the bird pokémon. The pidgey cheeped, before hopping into the tall grass.

"Wait!" Aster followed after the pokémon.

"Hey, hold up!" Kai grunted, following Aster into the tall patches of grass. Sprinting with haste, it wasn't long before he could see a bright light up ahead, indicating the grass strip's exit. "Ast-what woah!" Kai had walked into thin air, naturally falling into a large dirt hole below.

Growlithe stopped, stepping along the sides and walking slowly out into the open field.

Kai groaned, grabbing his head. He looked at the surroundings and saw Aster, lying on the rock solid floor and rubbing her head. Clenching his fist, he tried to jump as high as he could, but the walls were slightly higher than he could jump. He then proceeded to scratch the walls, but the rock was too smooth to climb. He sighed, then looked up. "Looks like the work of a diglett."

"Didn't think someone so clumsy could say something so true!" a familiar voice called out from above. Kai raised an eyebrow when he saw the familiar red jacket and black jeans from a week before. He also wore the same pair of shades and the black beanie that had earlier made it so easy for Kai to spot him in the morning crowd of commuters. "Did you get the roses I sent you?"

Kai's eyes twitched. "You mean Aster _didn't_ send those?"

"No silly," Aster said blankly, "roses are for romance!"

"Why would you send _roses_?!" Kai roared.

"Because they were on sale, you moron!"

" _Love_ ," Aster said in a sing-song voice, earning her a hit on the head from Kai's fist. "Ow!"

"And _you_ , what's the deal? Let us out, you goon!" Kai yelled. Growlithe growled, forcing the thief to back away from the hole.

"It's _thief_ , not _goon_!" the thief shouted angrily, then exhaled and let out a light chuckle. "Since I _am_ a thief, I'll give you a proposition."

"What, let us out and my Growlithe won't have to burn you butt first?" Kai replied.

"Give me the feather and I'll let you go."

"No!" Aster yelled back, sticking her tongue out.

Kai rolled his eyes. "It's just a feather!"

Aster smacked Kai on the head, making him bounce back and hit the floor. "Ouch! What the heck?" His eyes softened when he saw Aster's eyes water up.

She looked down at her hat. "It's important. _Please_ , big bro!"

With a sigh, Kai looked away for a minute, then moved his eyes to the top of the hole, "Sic him, Growlithe!"

Growlithe snarled fiercely, forcing the thief to back up even more. "H-hey, get back! Pidgey, use tackle!" Growlithe heard a familiar chirp as the bird pokémon rushed in from behind. Growlithe avoided the attack.

"Show that pidgey your ember!" Kai ordered. Growlithe shot flames into the air from its mouth, forcing the bird pokémon to retreat backwards to avoid the attack. Pidgey flew in from the left, hitting the fire-type along its shoulder. "You okay, buddy?"

Growlithe barked from above, all the reassurance Kai needed. "Ember again!" Growlithe shot more flames at Pidgey, the flying pokémon barely managing to dodge the attacks.

"His growlithe is well trained," the thief muttered, "but you can use your gust to put out those flames!" Pidgey nodded, advancing forward while dodging Growlithe's flame barrage. The flying-type pokémon then ascended higher into the sky and began to flap its wings. The ferocity of the wind grew, forcing Kai and Aster to cover their eyes. Growlithe flew backwards and slammed into the ground.

Kai could hear the cry of his Growlithe. "Hey, Growlithe!" The fire-type growled, shaking its head and getting up slowly. "Quick, use your smokescreen!" the fire-type shot back up, releasing a cloud of gas into the clear blue sky. Kai took off his hoodie and wrapped it around Aster's mouth, then stretched his shirt over his own mouth.

"Use gust to clear up the air, Pidgey!" the thief commanded. Pidgey ascended to the top of the smoke cloud and flapped its wings with ferocity, clearing away the smokescreen.

"Now, Growlithe!" Before the pidgey could react, the fire pokémon jumped up from behind and fired an ember attack before landing back onto the ground. The attack hit pidgey's back, forcing the pokémon to lower slightly. Growlithe fired several more embers. Having regained its senses, the flying pokémon avoided the attacks and dived in towards the fire type. Growlithe dodged the attack.

The thief gritted his teeth, and scoffed. _How is this possible? He couldn't have attained all this battling skill in a week!_ He smirked. _It's like battler's intuition is in his blood._

Aster cheered Kai on, her face still muffled by his hoodie. Kai rolled his eyes, then yelled, "I trust my Growlithe enough to not have to worry about his movements-even when I'm at the bottom of a hole!"

"Let's test that theory again," the thief responded. "Gust again!" Pidgey ascended swiftly to the sky again, flapping its wings harder than ever. Growlithe braced as the breeze grew stronger and stronger, becoming a furious wind.

"Now jump into the air, Growlithe!" Kai ordered. Growlithe shot up into the air and quickly fired another wave of ember attacks. "You should know that wind strengthens fires!" The wind pushed Growlithe's ember attacks back into the pokémon, pushing it back to the ground.

" _That_ was your big science lesson? Nice try!" The thief laughed, covering his arm to protect him from the dust and stepping backwards. As he pressed his foot up against the ground, it gave away and he fell into a hole. He grabbed his back in pain. "Ow shoot!"

"Looks like we finally caught up with you, street rat!" a female voice yelled from above. "Let's make him give it to us _now_ , Yin!"

"Patience, Yang," a male voice said. "Where is the crystal bell, boy?"

"I'd sooner rot in this hole before I'd tell you guys that!" the thief yelled back. "How the heck did I get in here anyway?"

"You said it yourself," Yin said mockingly, "nature does all the work. It was just a matter of figuring out your tendencies and waiting for the pieces to fall in place."

Growlithe growled at the man and woman, the thief's pidgey now by his side.

"We'll have to take care of those pokémon, now won't we?"

"Leave them alone!"

"Shut up, moron!" the thief shouted back.

"Ah yes, your guest." Yin smirked. "Enjoy the show."

"Hey, let me out!" Kai tried jumping as hard as he could again, this time stretching his arms out to see if he could touch the top of the hole, but he kept falling over. He stepped backwards and dashed forwards with the hope of using the momentum to boost him upwards, but he fell down harder than ever.

"Kai!" Aster ran over to him, grabbing him. "Stop it!"

"Let go!" he pushed her aside. "I have to help Growlithe!"

"Hey!" Aster exclaimed. She grabbed Kai's hair, then turned his head to face her eyes.

Kai grunted, glaring at her. " _What?_ "

"Idiot. You need to _trust me_. I _have_ an idea."

"Dugtrio, come up and use dig attack." Yin ordered. Suddenly, the ground began to shake underneath Growlithe. The ground fractured open, giving way to a brown pokémon with three identical heads, knocking the fire-type backwards. Pidgey ascended into the sky, avoiding the attack The pokémon tunneled back to Yin, awaiting his orders.

The thief's eyes widened. " _You_ made these holes, not the natural diglett and dugtrio." _Blast, HE set us up from the start!_

"What tipped you off?" Yin mocked.

"My turn!" Yang sneered, but Yin held her hand down.

"Don't waste your time. We have them right where we want them anyway. Dugtrio, finish off the bird with your-"

"Growlithe, ember!" the pokémon shot up and fired an ember attack at the unsuspecting dugtrio, knocking it backwards into a rock formation. All three heads of the dugtrio shrieked in pain.

"What the heck- _you_!" Yin exclaimed, turning to face Kai and Aster. "How did you get out?"

"Trust!" Aster said with two thumbs up.

"Whatever," Kai said, rolling his eyes. "Your dugtrio is in no shape to fight, and my growlithe still has a lot of firepower. Back off."

Yin turned to his dugtrio, still curled over and flinching in agony. _That last attack must have burned the dugtrio. How can such a weak pokémon produce such a powerful flame?_ "Yang, we retreat for now." Yin looked over at Kai, then smirked. "Expect to see us again. You've chosen the wrong side."

Yang clenched her fists, then took out a pokéball and threw it, releasing a flaming duck-like pokémon. "Magmar, smokescreen." The pokémon inhaled, then quickly exhaled a grey gas into the air.

Pidgey descended into the smoke immediately, flapping its wings. When the smoke cleared, Yin and Yang had vanished.

Kai rubbed Growlithe's head, then took out a pokéball. "Get some rest." Growlithe nodded, and Kai sent the fire-type back into its vessel. "Now I'll let you out of the hole if you give me some answers."

"Yeah, why would I?" the thief scoffed.

"Fine," Kai said, pretending to walk away.

The thief waved his hands frantically. "Wait! What do you want?"

"I got three requests. Do I have your word that you'll uphold them?"

The thief groaned, then nodded. "Thief's honor."

"What good could your word have?" The thief's pidgey chirped loudly, obviously offended by Kai's remarks.

"Easy, _Pidgey."_ The thief took off his shades and his black beanie, revealing spiky blonde hair and green eyes. He gazed into Kai's eyes, then smiled before putting his shades back on. "My word is my word."

"He doesn't look like the lying type," Aster remarked.

Kai pondered the meaning of Aster's words for a brief moment, then put his hand out to get the thief out of the hole.

Once out of the hole, the thief stretched out his arms and legs and returned his pidgey to its pokéball. "What are your three requests?"

"Are they rule-free wishes?" Aster giggled, making the thief turn red.

"I am not a genie! _"_

"Never said you were!" Aster said with a smug smile.

"Before you call me anything else, my name is _Roy_."

Kai kept his arms crossed, but calmly spoke, "Kai."

Aster shook his hand frantically, then bowed. "Aster Violet. Nice to meet you, genie!" She giggled while Roy chased her around angrily.

"Now with my first request," Kai began, his eyes closed and his voice composed, "What's _was_ that?"

* * *

And so another unusual day had come to pass on Kai's journey, having now made an allegiance with the thief Roy. With one new ally and two new enemies, what would the immediate future hold for Kai and Aster?

* * *

 **Author's Note [6-25-15]:** Yes I know this was uploaded a day early. If I happen to finish my final cut earlier, I will upload these chapters a day early. See you next week.

Please enjoy.


	4. Sprout Tower Surprise Part I

**Chapter 4: Sprout Tower Suprise Part I**

After successfully warding off a duo of dastardly villains, Roy is forced to follow through on the promise of several requests from Kai and Aster, bound by his sense of honor. Kai, not amused by the introduction of two evildoers into his life, burned for an explanation-more than pidgey yearned for magikarp sushi.

* * *

Roy looked around, as if he would narrowly dodge an attack at any minute, then turned to Kai and Aster. "Those two are agents of the Rocket Mafia."

"And I'm the president of Silph Co," Kai replied coolly, making Aster giggle.

"I'm serious! Those two have been following me all around the Johto region for weeks! You're not gonna believe me, but the reason I wanted to steal your feather was so they wouldn't steal it first."

"And _why_ do you want my feather?" Aster asked, holding on to her hat.

Roy reached into his satchel, taking out a metallic crystal bell with a raindrop carved deeply into it. Kai and Aster couldn't help but stare at it. "I don't know what it is about these items, but my contractor wants them madly. All I know is that feather belongs to Ho Oh, and my crystal bell belongs to Suicune. No doubt you've seen some weird things happen to that feather on occasion, shortstuff."

Aster's eyes widened. _How does he even know that,_ she thought.

Kai glared at Roy. "Look even _if_ whatever you're saying is true _and_ Team Rocket is still out there, you yourself were going to sell the feather to some other 'boss'. They could wait for you to sell, then buy it themselves."

"We're talking about the Rocket mafia here. They don't buy things, they take them!" The blonde-haired teen took off his sunglasses, and returned Kai's stare. "Look, the fact is today you and this short pudding pop have made enemies of my enemies, so we have to watch each other's backs."

His arms crossed, Kai took a deep breath. "Now for my other two requests."

 _Man, he almost asked a question too many,_ Roy thought _._ He perched himself next to Kai, sitting on a stump with his hands on his chin.

Reaching into his pocket, the 15-year-old boy took out a crumpled piece of paper and gave it to Roy. "You know a bit about Ho Oh and Suicune. What do you know about this?"

The thief grabbed the piece of paper, and unwrapped it. His eyes spontaneously lit up. " _unown_."

"You mean you don't know?" Aster questioned.

"No. The pokemon _unown_. They're ancient pokemon last said to be seen at the Ruins of Alph."

"Ok slow down," Kai said, "Where are the Ruins of Alph? I just want to return this paper."

"Right outside of Violet City," Roy replied.

Kai nodded. "Now for my final request."

Roy smirked. "Shoot."

Aster hit Roy across the side of the head, making him clench his head in pain. "Ow!"

"Stop trying to steal from us," she requested while Kai shook his head slowly.

"Whatever."

* * *

Meanwhile, camped just outside of Violet City, Rocket Mafia agents Yin and Yang carefully planned their next move...

* * *

"The nerve of that kid and his growlithe," Yang said, clenching her fist. "How dare that brat stand in the way of Team Rocket?!"

Yin quietly held a ear to Yang's tirade, lying quietly in the grass and sucking on a lollipop. "Hm," he replied affirmatively. He continued to gaze into the sky as Yang continued to vent. _How is it possible,_ he thought.

"Hey!"

"Hm?"

"Are you even listening?!" Yang said in an accusatory tone, turning herself towards Yin.

"Yeah," Yin replied, as spaced out as ever. _How was his weak pokemon able to knock out my elite dugtrio with one hit?_ He sat up, and returned Yang's glare. Naturally, he forced a smile.

"Hey I-" Yang stopped, slowly raising an eyebrow. "What?"

"You wanna talk settling the score? I wanna talk that _and_ more, but in order to do that, we have to be patient."

"You want me to be patient?" Yang spat, looking at him. "Are you serious? He humiliated us-top field agents!"

"Put that aside for a minute and think," Yin told her. "Up until now, we've been chasing the crystal bell. Now we're chasing the bell _and_ the golden feather."

"Golden feather?"

Yin nodded. "Surely you noticed it too."

"I did."

"I've noticed some-abnormalities recently." Yin suggested, folding his hands and resting his head on them. "Why don't we play a game of chess?"

"Meaning _what_?"

"Meaning let _them_ gather the five pieces. Once they do, then we strike."

Yang put her hand on Yin's shoulder, then laughed loudly. She then gave him a serious look. "We'll do it your way. But when we _get them_ , we'll do it _my_ way."

* * *

As the Rocket agents continued to plot their next move, the trio of Kai, Aster, and Roy reached Violet City. The group split up, as Roy and Aster took their pokemon to the Violet City Pokemon center, while Aster went to her home, leaving the two with her address.

* * *

"There you go," the pokemon nurse said with a smile, returning Growlithe and Pidgey's respective pokeballs.

"Thank you," Kai and Roy replied in unison.

She bowed. "We hope to see you again!"

"We should head over to Aster's address to see if she's okay," Kai suggested. "That way I can get her out of my hair for good."

"Preach," Roy responded. "And what do you mean _we_?"

"You're coming with me to the Ruins of Alph, remember?"

"Whatever. So what did you say her address was again?"

Kai handed him his pokedex as they walked out of the lobby of the red-roofed pokemon center complex. "Go to the memo app."

Roy nodded, opening the memo app. He read the address to himself quietly, but as he did, his voice seemed to quaver. The thief's hands began to shake, his face going pale.

"What's your deal, goon?"

"D-Do you know where this is?"

"No?"

* * *

Kai turned equally pale when he rotated his neck up to take in the height of the building he was looking at. Even in the shadow of the moonlit night sky, Kai could make out the purple pagoda-like roofing. He looked back down and stretched his neck.

As Kai and Roy slowly walked up the stairwell, surrounded by a fleet of trees, Roy explained. "This is Sprout Tower, the cultural pride and joy of Violet City, but also the home of many ex-convicts. I think shortstop is playing a mean joke on us."

"What if she isn't?"

"Shut up."

The town grew less and less visible through the trees as Kai and Roy climbed the stone stairway. The breeze around them bristled the trees, creating a very eerie feeling in the air.

It was then that Kai spotted two men-a man with a blonde mullet slightly taller than himself and a man with a shaved head and goatee that was about a few heads above him. Both wore raggedy brown robes. They approached Kai and Roy slowly, the taller of the two staring at the two boys with murderous intent.

Kai gulped. The blonde man stopped in front of him and crossed his arms. "So you're Kai."

"Yeah, is this Asters-"

"Battle. Now." He then turned to his taller companion. "Go tend to the garden." The bald man bowed, walking out of sight.

"Ok? Why?"

"No questions. I want to test your skills. This will be a one on one battle with no healing items allowed. I choose my noctowl."

Roy stepped backwards, pumping his fist. "I'll cheer you from back here!"

Kai rolled his eyes, then turned to the blonde man. "I choose Growlithe."

The blonde man took out a pokeball, similar to the red and white capsule Kai had and threw it beside him. When the flash of light faded away, a brown-feathered pokemon with piercing red eyes and trident-shaped eyebrows ascended into the sky.

Kai threw his pokeball, releasing growlithe. The pokemon barked, seemingly well-rested. "So who's got the first move-"

"Peck, Noctowl."

"Hey! Dodge, Growlithe!" As the owl-like species of pokemon swooped in, growlithe narrowly dodged the attack, jumping backwards.

"Tackle, now." the noctowl circled around rapidly, now diving towards Growlithe. Growlithe turned in mid air, evading the attack and landing on all fours.

"Show him _your_ tackle, Growlithe," Kai ordered. Growlithe dashed forward, using momentum to spring off the ground towards noctowl.

With relative ease, the flying pokemon feinted to the right, then slammed into Growlithe with ferocity, knocking the fire type backwards.

The man chuckled. "You and your pokemon have great reaction time," the man said, "but you lack proper discipline."

"Try an ember attack," Kai commanded. Growlithe exhaled a barrage of fire orbs at the noctowl. With the ember flames flying towards noctowl, Growlithe dashed behind noctowl.

"Foresight." As it avoided the flames, noctowl's eyes began to glow.

"Now!" Growlithe bounced upwards, aiming for noctowl's wings, but the pokemon dodged the swift attack with relative ease, then ascended higher into the sky as Growlithe came down.

Kai clenched his fist. _How did he anticipate the angle of my attack while dodging the ember attacks_ _,_ he thought. _One wrong move, and this could all be over._

"So you noticed it too," the man said with a smile.

"Noticed what?"

"Your pokemon's wide open blind spot-or should I say weak spot?"

"What do you mean," Kai asked.

"My noctowl's foresight can anticipate any incoming attacks within seconds of them happening."

"That's brilliant," Roy said in amazement."I've heard of many noctowl possessing the innate foresight ability, but only the most skilled of trainers can train them to use the ability at will!"

"Within seconds, huh?" Kai muttered to himself, then turned to Growlithe. Growlithe nodded at Kai, then turned back to noctowl. "Ember inhale!" The fire-type began to inhale through its nose and mouth.

"What are you up to this time?" the blonde-haired man laughed. "Peck!" The flying type pokemon descended downwards towards growlithe, head positioned towards the fire-type.

"Now!" Growlithe evaded the attack, forcing noctowl to curl upwards to avoid a collision with the ground. The fire type then circled around growlithe. Kai nodded, and the pokemon began to inhale again.

"Ah, trying to use your Flash Fire ability to attack with more fury," the blonde-haired man said with a laugh, "but you forget this is a battle of wits. Foresight!" The flying pokemon's eyes began to glow once more.

"Now!" Growlithe sprinted towards noctowl, dashing with full force. "Tackle!"

Noctowl dashed forwards, head first once more. Anticipating an ember attack, the flying pokemon feinted to the left, but the fire type pokemon latched on to noctowl's wing, making it screech in pain. The pokemon tried to shake Growlithe off, but the fire type refused to relent.

"What the?"

"You forgot something."

"And what's that, boy?"

"The future is ever changing! Now!" Growlithe let go of noctowl as the flying type descended slowly. Landing on the ground, the fire type spewed a wave of flames at noctowl, knocking the surprised pokemon backwards into a tree.

"Noctowl!" The noctowl did not respond, lying on the ground unconscious. The man walked up, caressed his pokemon, then returned it to its pokeball.

"Return, Growlithe," Kai ordered, sending the fire type back into its own capsule.

"That was a fine battle, young man," the man remarked. "I can see Aster is in good hands."

"Aster?"

"My sister."

Kai eye's widened. "You're her brother?" _She's related to a convict?_ he thought.

"She's family to me and brother slim back there."

"Oh ok," Kai said with a sigh.

"You mean that big guy's name is _slim_?"

"That's what you get from that?!" Kai yelled at Roy.

"Brother Liam, I'm home!" the boys heard Aster's voice yell as it climbed up the stairs. When she walked up, she had several heavy plastic bag in her hand. She breathed heavily, holding on to the bag. "You know Brother Liam?!"

"We just met," Liam said with a smile. "Why don't we go inside and talk? You must have a lot of questions about the sacred items you hold on to-and my background."

"How can you read our minds?!" Kai and Roy questioned in unison.

"Come on," Aster said with a giggle, "I'll show you guys around."

She reached for her plastic bag, but Kai stepped in, grabbing the bag. "I'll-hold on to this."

"Such a gentleman," Aster said with a wink.

"Shut up."

" _Gentlemen_."

"You don't get in on this, goon!"

Liam chuckled. _There's still much you have to learn, Kai Wexler. And much I have yet to tell you._

* * *

With another day behind them, Kai, Aster, and Roy hoped to lodge up for the night at Sprout Tower, but with a seemingly endless amount of floors, what possibilities awaited them in the halls of the pagoda?

* * *

 **Author's Note [7-2-15]:**

Released a day ahead because I'm going out of town and internet is an uncertainty, it may be chock full of grammatical errors, but most newspapers have 25-30 typos themselves.

I'd like to thank TitantheFanficWritingAvalugg, Darth Kokkinos, and Izzyboopers for following my story and showing their support in one way or another!

Please R & R as usual and most importantly, _enjoy_.


	5. Sprout Tower Surprise Part II

**Chapter 5: Sprout Tower Surprise Part II**

Having earned Liam's respect in the field of battle, Kai and his unlikely acquaintances all moved into the halls of the wooden pagoda to share a meal. Outside, the moonlight gave way to the rustling of a ferocious wind and the rumbling of dark storm clouds, leaving Kai and his friends with no choice but to stay in the lengthy halls for the night...

* * *

"I'd like to thank you again for keeping Aster safe," Liam said, bowing.

Kai shook his head. "Look, I didn't do it because I'm a hero or anything."

"Yeah, he's still a young man," Aster said, bearing a smirk.

"I second that," Roy said with a nod.

"That aside, now that we've had dinner, I'm sure you have as many questions for me as I do for you."

"Tell us something about Aster's golden feather," Kai requested immediately.

"Yeah, why are so many bad guys after my feather, brother Liam?"

Liam's eyes lit up. "Bad guys?"

Kai and Aster pointed at Roy, who turned his gaze away from Liam quickly, only to meet the glare of Slim, who happened to pass by.

"I don't even know what that feather is all about." Roy shrugged. "I was just trying to put food on the table!"

Liam continued to stare quietly at Roy, who returned his stare. He then chuckled lightly, making Roy fall over. "I understand, but tell me a little more about these _other_ people."

"Dressed in black. Roy claims they're Team Rocket, but I'd understand if you think he's nuts," Kai explained, earning a scowl from the thief.

"I see. That is hard to believe considering everything that transpired years ago."

"So what do you know about the feather?" Kai asked, arms crossed.

"Nothing that could aid you in any way." Liam closed his eyes, then took a sigh.

Kai clenched his fist, standing up. "We got attacked today. That's not going to cut it for _tomorrow_." He took a deep breath and sat down, bowing slightly.

"My answer still stands, although perhaps knowing more about Team Rocket's demise may aid you."

"Please tell us what you know," Aster asked, holding Liam's hand.

"Well, I'm sure nobody has heard the story of Kenneth Walker," Liam said with a smile.

"Who?" Roy asked.

"Exactly. What have your families been telling you about Team Rocket's defeat?"

"The last time I was back home, my folks told me-they just got defeated."

"But _how_?"

Roy opened his mouth as if to reply, but nothing would come out.

"All this time, they've been drilling into your heads that Team Rocket collapsed, but hiding the truth about the man who was the catalyst behind everything. That man is Sir Kenneth Walker, an accomplished battler who rode an Arcanine into battle."

Kai's eyes widened. Every hair on his arm seemed to stand up as Liam continued to describe Kenneth Walker. Growlithe came over to Kai, sitting on his trainer's lap. _What's wrong with me?_ the trainer thought, holding on to his pokémon.

Aster looked at Kai worriedly, putting her hand on his back.

Liam continued to talk on, "He and his Arcanine stopped the old Rocket mafia from unleashing a truly great plot to take over Johto-even at the expense of their own honor. They were truly-"

"I don't believe it!" Kai said sharply, standing up. Everyone turned to glance at him. He took a deep breath. "Sorry. It's been a long day."

Liam gazed at him, then nodded. "Yes it has, allow Slim to show you to your rooms." Slim came around and led Kai, Aster, and Roy down the hall. "Oh but a quick warning to _all of you_ : you could easily get lost in here, and in the halls of the Sprout Tower, you will not be alone." Liam cackled manically, making Roy turn pale.

Aster punched Liam in the gut, knocking him over. "Don't scare our guests!"

Liam wheezed. " _Sorry._ "

* * *

Despite raining heavily outside the Sprout Tower, the halls of the pagoda remained steadily silent aside from the occassional creaks and groans. For reasons other than fear, Kai and Growlithe had trouble drifting off into dreamland...

* * *

Kai rubbed his eyes as he sat up in his sleeping bag, the only provision provided to him in the wooden room, one of many in the endless pagoda. Growlithe sat in a curled position next to him, unable to sleep as well. _Why did I react the way I did?_

Suddenly, the door to Kai's room creaked open, making the trainer go pale. Kai stood up while Growlithe snarled at the door. Gulping, he asked, "Who is it?"

The creaking grew to a still for a moment, and then Aster poked her head through the door, dressed in yellow floral pajamas and holding a teddy bear in her hand, and still wearing her fedora, although without the feather.

"Aster?"

"C-can I sleep in your room, Kai?"

"What about Liam?" Kai asked, crossing his arms.

"He's too many floors up, and I don't wanna climb the stairs."

"Look, if I take you to him, will you leave me alone-" a loud thud interrupted their conversation, echoing through the hallway. The noise was followed by a muffled moaning noise. The two of them turned their heads towards the door. Another thud rang through the hall. Afterwards, it grew quiet. The three of them walked into the hallway.

Growlithe lit up the chamber with the flames in its mouth, providing dim lighting.

Kai slowly paced through the hallway, anticipating another noise, but none came. "That's weird." He shivered. _It's freezing_ , he thought. _Should've worn my hoodie to bed._ He looked around. _No, something else is off._

"Well brother Liam did say a lot of ghosts like to roam the halls."

"So he did."

"So why couldn't you sleep?" Aster questioned.

"I'd rather not talk about it."

"Was it that nightmare again?"

"I-" suddenly, the loud noise picked up again, this time coming from directly in front of them. Several repeated thuds and moans followed.

Growlithe rushed forward, Kai following behind. "Hang around here!" The two dashed ahead of the corner ahead, trying to tail the loud noises. Unable to see in the dark, Kai ran straight into another person, colliding heads.

When he looked at the culprit, he saw blonde spikey hair and heard a distinctively familiar voice. "Oh, that smarts! Ow!"

"Roy?"

"Kay-Kai? What are you doing here?"

"I want to ask you the same thing. Did you hear those noises?"

"Yeah, I followed them to here."

A flushing noise came from the room and the hinge of the door began to creak open, prompting the two to look towards the door. Out came Slim, towering several inches above them and bearing a tauros' glare as usual.

"Slim? Was that you?"

"Don't use the bathroom for some time," he said, his first words to the two boys, to which they nodded. He then walked away into the hallway, leaving the two confused.

"What's all the commotion?" a voice said loudly behind them, making the two bounce slightly.

Kai and Roy turned around, groaning in unison. "Liam."

"Who was making that noise?"

"Slim," Kai answered, yawning.

"Man, again?" Liam groaned. "Jeez."

"By the way, what floor are you on?" Kai asked. "Aster wants to come sleep with you."

Liam scratched his head. "Is that a trick question?"

"What do you mean?"

"She's already asleep in my room."

"I knew it!" Kai ran back towards his room, leaving Roy and Liam behind."

"When you gotta go, you gotta go," Liam said, to which Roy nodded.

* * *

"I've been feeling weird ever since I came here," Kai remarked, "but now I think I know _why_." He pointed towards the form of Aster, standing there giggling playfully. "You're a ghost."

The form of Aster diffused into a levitating ball of purple mist, bearing large white eyes that looked positively irked.

"You tipped me off quite a lot," Kai commented, "I don't know if pops ever told you about my nightmares, or that Liam never explicitly mentioned ghosts, but there is _one_ thing I know for sure: Aster would _never_ let her feather out of her sight."

The gastly snickered as it shape-shifted back into the form of Aster. "Catch me!" The pokémon giggled, running away from Kai and Growlithe. The two ran after the spirit pokémon in pursuit, only to lose sight of it past one of the many creaking corners of the hallway.

Suddenly, Kai felt a chill run down his spine. He turned to Growlithe and noticed the gastly reach out to lick the fire type across its face, making it shudder. Kai raised an eyebrow. "That's just creepy."

The pokémon quickly bobbed levitated away from the two and faded once more.

"Show yourself!" Kai shouted.

The gas-like pokémon reappeared slightly behind its original place, hovering backwards while laughing.

"Ember, Growlithe!" The fire type nodded, igniting a barrage of flames from its mouth. Gastly avoided the attacks by diffusing and returning almost immediately. Growlithe raced forward and exhaled another wave of flames, but the ghost type evaded them with just as much ease ease.

Reappearing behind Kai, the gastly licked Kai on the nape of his neck, making him bounce back. "Don't you have any other moves?!"

The orb-like pokémon fussed, then turned its head and rubbed its face with seemingly transparent hands. The ghost pokémon then revealed its face to Kai, now a clown face with eyes popping out like springs. It held the face for mere seconds before breaking out into a guffaw.

Kai stared with wide eyes. "Are you trying to scare me or mock me? That was kind of lame."

The ghost pokémon hissed, turning its head and motioning its hands as before. It shrieked loudly while revealing an enlarged Growlithe face with eyes popping out.

Kai yawned. "Come on, you can do better scary faces than that."

Growlithe barked in agreement.

The ghost pokémon floated slowly over to Kai, gawking at the trainer and his growlithe.

"If you really were scary, you would show it to me in a battle," Kai told the pokémon.

The ghost type grinned, then dashed towards Growlithe. Growlithe hopped backwards, dodging the attack. The ghost pokémon attacked once more, but the fire type evaded the physical attack with ease. Despite attacking several times relentlessly, Gastly could not hit Growlithe.

"I see you don't have any battle moves other than that lick attack."

The pokémon shook its head, disappearing.

"You can't scare me with a joke that's more tired than a slowpoke!"

Gastly reappeared instantly, looking visibly irritated.

"Ember!"

Growlithe fired a wave of ember attacks at the vulnerable gastly, landing several hits on the pokémon. The pokémon vanished, retreating backwards. Following the pokémon, Kai and Growlithe came up to a dead end in the dark hall.

Suddenly, Gastly came out of the hallway and began to morph, taking on spikey hair and green eyes.

 _Attitude aside, that is one interesting ability,_ Kai thought, taking out a pokéball. "That's a good transformation."

Gastly grinned, dancing playfully in a circle.

Growlithe rapidly exhaled several balls of fire, knocking gastly backwards into the wall and rendering it unconscious.

Kai took a pokéball out of his pocket. _Good thing I always keep at least one of these at hand,_ he thought. He enlarged the capsule and threw it. The pokéball engulfed the gastly, and only seconds passed before the object pinged in approval of its catch. _My first catch._

* * *

Liam continued to poke Gastly. The pokémon retreated over to Kai, irritated by the curious man's pandering. "So this is the gastly that's been shape-shifting and taking on forms of the local residents here at the tower recently. Consider yourself lucky. Shape-shifting gastly are rare to come by."

"Dude, we could make a fortune selling that thing," Roy added, to which Kai glared at him. "Just a suggestion."

"That explains a lot," Kai said with a yawn. "At least we know who was pulling the strings and making loud noises."

Gastly shook its head.

"You mean you _didn't_ make the loud thudding noises?" Kai asked. The pokémon nodded.

"I thought we established the culprit for that was Slim," Roy remarked.

"I _never_ said _I_ made those noises," Slim commented, walking away.

Suddenly, the thudding noise picked up again, making everyone in the room go pale.

"I think we should talk about this in the morning," Kai suggested.

"G-good idea," Roy said nervously.

The two of them dashed off to their rooms, leaving Liam behind. He shrugged. "Tomorrow, then?"

* * *

And so, Kai and his friends braved the worst of an eerie sleepover at the pagoda. What questions remained to be answered-and what strange happenings awaited the trio in the future?

* * *

 **Author's Note [7-10-15]:**

A chapter actually uploaded on a Friday. What do you know? I had to hold this one off for a bit to fix some errors. I just came back from a one week vacation. I actually planned the writing of this chapter over the course of the week, but I didn't start writing until the 9th.

Shoutout to Darth Kokkinos for being extremely supportive of my story!

Anyway, R & R, and please _enjoy_!


	6. A Ruin Mystery Part I

**Chapter 6: A Ruin Mystery Part I**

In only a little more than a week, Kai had seen the front of a car, the back of a thief, the bottom end of a hole, and the top of a tower. With his highs and lows behind him, Kai looked to wrap up business in Violet City by fighting for his first gym badge and finding the owner of the unown sketches...

* * *

Roy picked up a card from a deck next to him, biting his lip. Liam and Slim followed suit.

"Hm?" Liam uttered, earning a stare from Roy.

 _You can't fool me Liam_ , Roy thought. He turned to look at Slim. _What a poker face!_

Kai walked into the hall of the pagoda, his nose running and his eyes watering. His body language slumped, he collapsed.

Roy smirked. "Rough day on the job?"

"Shut up."

"Hey, I'm just trying to keep our agreement cordial! Tell me about it."

At this point, Aster walked into the room, eyes lit with curiosity. "Yeah, what happened to your gym battle?"

"And the ruins," Roy added, picking up another card.

"So about that gym battle..."

* * *

"Sorry kid, the gym leader is out doing field work."

"Can I ask _where_?"

"He asked everybody at the gym to keep quiet about it! Won't say a word!"

* * *

Kai sighed. "So after I didn't get into the gym, I walked about a mile or two out of town and found the Ruins of Alph entry gate."

"And?" Liam asked.

"And..."

* * *

"Sorry kid. No business, _No_ entry!" One of the security guards said sternly.

"But I have this paper here and I-"

"Look kid, that's a cute sketch, but things have been secretive at the Ruins lately. If you don't have any contacts or a direct appointment, you're not getting in!"

Kai gave the guards a focused look, then stepped back, taking a pokéball out. "Then, I'll fight you guys for it! If you I beat you, you'll let me in."

* * *

"And?" Roy asked.

Kai fell to the floor, looking dejected. "They laughed at me."

"Well, to be fair, you don't have the height to be intimidating."

"I'm not _that_ short, you goon!" Kai yelled.

"Who you calling goon?!"

Liam chuckled, picking up a card. "Not a bad hand. Settle down, you two. You'll find all your answers at the ruins."

"What, you're gonna get us in _?_ "

* * *

"He got us in," Kai said, rolling his eyes.

"Did you see those security guards? I only mentioned Slim once," Roy laughed.

"Those are my big bros!" Aster said with a grin.

As he opened the door, a bright light hit Kai, blinding him. When his line of sight cleared up, he saw rocks and sand lining up the ground everywhere, with workers lining up each and every pothole and entry in the rugged mesas surrounding the area.

Aster put her fedora back on. "It's _hot_ ," she whined.

"Yeah," Roy agreed.

"It was spring just a few minutes ago," Kai added.

"Stop right there."

The three children turned around. Two young adults-a man and a woman-stared curiously at Kai and his friends. The woman had shoulder-length brown hair and brown eyes. The man had spiked black hair and grey eyes. Kai looked immediately at the woman, and shot up.

" _You!_ Who are you?" Kai asked.

"Actually, that's my question," she said with a smile on her face. "State your business here."

"Actual, we're friends with Liam," Roy said, putting his arm out.

"Relax," the man stated, putting his hand out and shaking with the three kids. "Name's Flynn. If Liam sent you, then it must be good."

"You didn't answer my question-"

"Hold on, kid. That golden feather. Aren't you Liam's sister?"

"How did you know that, mister?" Aster asked.

"I met you when you were just a few years old! Me and Liam haven't seen each other in a while, but the two of us are go way back!"

"Hey, so tell me-"

"I'm sorry, how rude!" the woman said. "My name is Jenny. I'm the lead investigator here."

" _Co-_ lead," Flynn corrected, making her roll her eyes.

Kai fell backwards as Roy and Aster interacted with Aster and Roy. _I'm used to this_ , he thought. He reached into his pocket and took out the sketch, ready to show it to Jenny. Suddenly, he felt a hand on his hoodie that jerked him from behind, dragging him backwards into a corner. Kai pushed himself out of the hand's grip and turned to see shoulder length brown hair and brown eyes, only dressed in different clothes. She reached out with her other hand, and grabbed the paper, stuffing it into her satchel.

"You! But you were just there!"

"That's my sister, but more importantly, you stole my drawings!"

"Stole? No no, I _returned_ them," Kai corrected, irritated. "How about thanking me? Those _unown_ drawings looked like really important."

"That's not your business! Now if you'll excuse me, I have work to do." she began to walk off, but Kai grabbed her hand.

"Not until I get a thanks."

"For what? It was _your_ fault the stack got knocked over in the first place. Now let go!" Removing her hand from his grip with a sway, she began to walk through a squeezable crevice, far and away from any of the other workers. Kai followed her through the crevice.

"Look, I'm not usually crazy about this stuff, but my journey got off on the wrong foot in part due to that paper."

"I'm sure that can't be the _only_ reason."

Kai raised his eyebrow. "What are you trying to say?"

She smirked. "Well, I'm sure there were several other fallacies that occurred on your journey partly due to you being one screw short of a magnemite."

"In English?"

"You're an _idiot._ "

"Well I-" Kai stopped when he noticed the two of them were not in the afternoon sun's blinding light anymore.

They stood in a rustic chamber supported by pillars. The air around them was stuffy and congested, forcing Kai to remove his hoodie. The girl removed her tan jacket, adjusting her spectacles. "This is where you get out of my life."

"What is this place?"

"Get out."

Kai crossed his arms. "You were _really_ quick to get me away from Jenny and Flynn. Could it be that you don't want them to see those drawings?"

She looked at him, flustered. "W-what, I-"

"You're hiding something from them. You're hiding this chamber from them."

"Shut up!"

"If you don't want me to reveal this chamber and your sketches, then I suggest you explain-"

"Please don't," she begged, her eyes wet.

An alarmed Kai bounced up and put his arms out. "No No, don't cry! Hold the tears!"

She wiped her face and put her spectacles back on. "If you really have to know, this is what I believe is the Entei chamber."

"Entei? Like the folk story?"

"Entei is a beast that controls fire," she explained, walking deeper into the hallway, only illuminated by cracks on the surface. "my family doesn't think Entei or the other two legendary dogs are folk tales."

"How can you be so sure?"

"This," she said, pointing in front of her at a slab. Kai moved towards the slab, dusting it off. As he did, he saw what appeared to be square fragments of a four-legged body. She turned away. "I found this puzzle a few days ago. This is an ancient piece of work from the Kingdom of Alph possibly Entei, the volcanic beast of legend. I don't dare touch this work of art without understanding more about the legendary dog, but still-" she opened her eyes and turned back to see Kai fiddling with the puzzle, making her fall over.

"I think I've got this."

"Were you even listening to me?! Stop that!" She said, pounding on his back relentlessly, but he kept going, unaware. "That is an ancient piece of work made by an ancient civilization that-"

"It's a puzzle."

"Well, yeah, but-"

"I've done my fair share of puzzles," Kai said, moving several pieces back and forth. "I-had a lot of spare time."

"That's wrong!"

"You want to figure this out just as bad as I do."

"No I mean, that last piece goes _here_ ," the girl said, putting the final piece in place triumphantly. The picture depicted a four-legged creature with sharp spikes emerging from its backside.

"That's Entei all right, but there isn't a single schoolbook that could do justice to it after this."

"Agreed-"

At that moment, the earth began to shake violently. The two of them made their way to the corners of the building, holding on to the crumbling pillars.

"Earthquake!" the girl yelled.

Kai's eyes moved towards the entrance, and his eyes lit up immediately. "The rocks outside aren't moving!"

The ground beneath them gave way to nothing, and the two of them fell several feet before landing in a patch of soft ground, sending black dust flying into the air. Kai coughed, trying in vain to use his arms as a fan to blow the dust away.

"What kind of sand is this?!" He yelled.

"This is no sand," the girl said with a cough as she reached into her satchel, taking out a pokéball and throwing it. "Butterfree, use your whirlwind to clear the dust!" When the white light from the capsule settled, a purple bug-like pokémon with two antennas and a pair of silky white wings hovered into the sky, slowly flapping its wings into a rhythm. The speed of the wings picked up, creating a gale strong enough to drive away the dust. The girl then returned the insect pokémon into its pokéball with one swift motion of point-and-click.

"You had a pokémon?"

" _Clearly_ , and to answer your first and more relevant question, this is volcanic ash. That's odd."

"Why?" Kai asked, wiping the dust off his shirt.

"There is no body of heat nearby that could cause this, never mind a volcano. And look at this hallway."

Kai nodded, gazing at the hallway carved so intricately out of stone and paved with volcanic ash and rocks of various shapes and form. The hallway continued on past a bend up ahead of the two. "It looks man-made."

"Bingo," the girl replied. "This is _huge_. This is solid proof that these tunnels once harbored an ancient civilization-and at the very least-intelligent life!" She put her fist in the air, pumping it several times.

"That's the least of your mysteries and _our_ problems," Kai said, pointing up at the ceiling.

The ceiling was layered neatly with stone similar to the rest of the small cavern.

" _How_ is that even possible?" she asked, mouth wide open.

"We don't have time to think about that right now. I have a strong feeling we should go that way."

"Well, unless you find some other way," she replied, receiving a glare from Kai. _He's right. Why do I feel like I need to go this way?_

* * *

"Kai sure has been gone a long time," Aster said worriedly.

"So has Jane," Jenny added.

"Jane?" Roy asked.

"My little sister. Maybe you've heard of her? Jane Ronkowski?"

"You mean the child prodigy?" Roy asked immediately, grabbing her shoulders. "The one who published the paper called ' _Fallen Kingdom of Alph_ '?"

"That's the one," Flynn said, taken aback by Roy's enthusiasm.

"How could I have _not_ heard of her? She's 15 and she's already published a paper in Professor Oak's journal!"

"Why are you so jumpy about this stuff, Roy?" Aster questioned.

"None of your Beedril's Wax!" He replied, sticking his tongue out.

"Nyah!" Aster stuck her tongue out back.

"I've been meaning to ask more about that golden feather."

"Why, mister Flynn?"

"Because it has a lot to do with our research."

"Well, then maybe you could tell us something about this too," Roy said, removing the water-crest bell from his bag.

Flynn's eyes widened. "The crystal bell and the golden feather already? We need to talk _immediately_."

Jenny watched on quietly. _What if Jane comes into contact with these two?_ she thought.

* * *

"I think we're almost there," Jane said.

"Where's _there_?"

As they turned another bend in the long hallway, Kai and Jane saw a bright light. Following it, the two kids arrived at a room larger and more spacious then the other one, but containing parallel walls with carvings on them. The room was much more humid than the other one, causing the two to sweat profusely. Examining the writings closely, Kai and Jane knew what they were looking at instantly.

"Unown," he said, wiping the sweat off his face.

"Every letter. This is-"

"Impossible?"

" _Amazing._ Let's get a closer-" she tripped over a stone as she walked forward, her satchel falling to the ground, dropping several papers and items.

"Man, you sure are clumsy."

"I am _not_ clumsy!"

"Yeah I-" Kai's eyes widened when he saw a strange object on the ground. The object was a bell-with a flame symbol carved into it.

Jane noticed his glare, and she snatched the item into her hand. "I-" the object began to glow brightly, blinding the two of them with its intense glare. Then, a light shot out of the bell, traveling around the parallel walls one by one. Kai and Jane could only stare silently as the unown drawings began to emit a sharp glow.

"W-what's going on?!" Jane yelled.

"We're about to find out!"

* * *

 **Author's Note [7-17-15]:**

This chapter is longer than the others, but for good reason. This is also the first of a trilogy of chapters depicting important events, so please stay tuned, as chapter 7 and 8 may come sooner than you'd think.

If you want to share your own stories or just want to meet fellow writers on fanfiction, come to the forum _Arcadian Sands_. The forum was started by my good friend Darth Kokkinos. If you're into Star Wars, be sure to check out his take on the events after the movies in "The Greater Evil I: Rise of Darkness".

Don't forget to R & R, and most importantly, _enjoy_.


	7. A Ruin Mystery Part II

**Chapter 7: A Ruin Mystery Part II**

Miners scrambled everywhere as the ground shook violently and the nearby mesas dropped rock onto the sand-paved work areas.

"Everybody, get into the safety of the main building!" Jenny bellowed loudly, trying to get the attention of the panicking miners.

"Why is the ground shaking so much?!" Roy yelled, putting his hands over his head.

"Has it already begun?!" Flynn shouted, taking cover next to Jenny.

"Look at that over there!" Aster bellowed, pointing towards a beam-like light that seemed to rapidly elevate into the sky.

The light grew brighter and brighter by the second, so much so that it gleamed like a star, even in the clear blue sky. The light seemed to dissipate into a bright wall of illumination, but did not lose its powerful flare.

* * *

The heated room tempered into a chill. The unown drawings on the walls spiraled into a wind vortex and exploded out of the walls, as if they were coming out of the pages of a book.

Kai and Jane covered their eyes as dust accumulated into the air.

Suddenly, the powerful forces of the wind came to a halt. The humidity in the air returned.

"I feel weird," Kai said, shuddering. _I'm sweating from the heat, but there's a chill in here?_

"It feels like all the wind in this room has vanished," Jane replied.

"So the volcanic guardian has finally arrived," a loud and calculating voice boomed loudly, grabbing the attention of the two teens immediately. Looking towards the spacious ceiling, the two saw black silhouettes of different shapes and sizes slowly descending downwards. "We have awaited your arrival for 15 years."

As the shapes neared closer, Jane's eyes lit up. "The unown...they're..."

"They're real," Kai finished, gazing up with equal awe as the hovering figures came into the light.

"There's A...and Z...and G...remarkable," said Jane, surprise in her voice. "They _are_ real."

Kai rolled his eyes. "Well, duh!"

"Step forward, guardian," the single voice of the many ancient pokémon commanded loudly, silencing the two teens. "Our master has been waiting 15 years for you."

"Master?"

"The one you humans call 'Entei'."

"Entei is real too?!" Jane squealed, unable to contain her excitement. "This is too good to be true!"

Kai stepped forward, scratching his head. "Hold up a minute. This has to be some kind of a joke. A talking pokémon?"

"Our voices directly touch your minds through telepathy, projecting as a singular voice."

"Try me."

"Very well. Your goal to become the best warrior among your kind, but it is not truly what your heart desires."

"I _do_ want to prove to everyone they were wrong about me, but-"

"But you seek something for yourself before others, and you want your friend, the one you call Aster Violet, to share in what you desire."

"What in the-" Kai stepped backwards, shivering. _I never mentioned her name_ , he thought.

"That _has_ to be proof enough, idiot," Jane said with a scoff.

"Not until the unown can guess which number I'm thinking of!"

"22."

Jane punched Kai across the head. "That's all you could think of asking?!"

"Your concern is noted, volcanic guardian. Truly the new sea guardian leaves a lot to be desired, both mentally and physically."

"Are you calling me short and stupid-hold on, what?"

"You are the guardian of the sea, Kai Wexler. Jane Ronkowski, you are the guardian of the volcano."

Kai sighed, crossing his arms. "Ok, I'll play along. What are the guardians?"

"The guardians are the protectors of our master and his equals. The ones you humans call Entei, Suicune, Raikou, Ho-Oh, and Lugia _-_ each possesses a human counterpart. Guardians take birth on our planet during trying times in order to maintain the peaceful coexistence between our kind and yours, and to eradicate those that disturb this synchronicity."

"So we're like pokémon trainers for folks tales," Kai stated.

"Though destiny has granted guardianship upon you, you must still prove your worth to the five masters of this land."

"How do we do that?" Jane asked, gripping on to her flame-crested bell.

"There are four more temples scattered throughout the land, each housing one of our masters. You must find the other three guardians. Each of you must face a trial bestowed upon you by our masters to be granted the title of equal."

"How will we find the other three guardians, then?" Kai questioned. Almost immediately, he understood. _Of course! Why can't I put two and two together?_ "Roy and Aster-they are guardians."

"You are correct."

"But they each have items. Why don't I have a feather or bell?"

"That I cannot ascertain in any way. Destiny must take its course."

"Then how do you know I'm a guardian?"

"We can sense it in your presence."

"There's also something else I don't get," Jane added, pacing around. "You said there were _five_ guardians."

"Correct, volcanic guardian."

* * *

"So you're saying the four of us are guardians, and that each of us has to tame a mythical pokémon and use it to fight some evil thing nobody has any idea about and that only we can conveniently defeat." Roy remarked. _The power to control a legendary pokémon. Why wouldn't my contractor want that?_

"And you actually believe us?" Flynn asked, his eyebrows raised.

"It obviously sounds crazy, but what you felt and saw was even crazier!" Jenny said, her gaze focused sternly on Roy.

Roy shrugged. "Well, yeah. I've seen things crazier than taking a tangela to a barbershop since I was a kid."

"That explains a lot about you, genie!" Aster said with a grin, earning a scowl from the thief.

"My bell has acted weird from time to time, and Aster's feather has too."

Aster nodded. "My feather shined a few years ago I think."

"What about Jane's bell, Jenny?" Flynn asked.

"Strangely, it's been glowing more and more frequently over the last few years." The woman put her hands on her chin, staring off into space.

"I also noticed one thing," Roy said, pacing around. "We're missing one guardian."

"We don't know how the process of gathering the five works, but it seems as though four have gathered just fine," Flynn explained.

"That's not to say the fifth guardian is going to be just as easy to find," Jenny added.

"We might as well put out a news inquiry," Roy said, laughing. "With that stellar light show on display, anyone who knows anything about this is going either going to be helping us or-"

"After your tails," Flynn finished, crossing his arms.

"What _was_ that light all about anyway?" Aster questioned.

Jenny turned towards the direction the light came from. "One of the temples is underneath this very site. You can access it from the Entei puzzle room." _Jane must have finally figured out how to open it_ , she thought. _But how will she do with the trial ahead?_

* * *

"I've sighted that brat Roy, sir," a man said, his binoculars set on the thief. "But he has company."

"Excellent. I want you to bring Roy and the other three back to me," a voice replied, coming from a communicator connected to the man's vest.

"We will, sir," another man replied, returning to a prone position next to the other man. "Let's go."

"No. We will wait until the four gather together."

"Understood."

* * *

"Step forward, volcanic guardian."

Jane did, walking slowly towards the center of the room. Looking down, she saw a symbol carved into the floor. "No doubt it's written in an ancient language."

"What you see is the language of your predecessors, the subjects of Alph. Now, my master wishes to test your worth. Are you ready for whatever test lies ahead?"

"I am." The symbol beneath Jane began to emit a reddish glow. Suddenly, she felt a quick pain coursing through her body, forcing her to kneel.

"Hey are you okay?" Kai asked, but Jane put her hand out.

"It was only for a moment. I feel warm now." Jane turned to Kai and opened her eyes.

Her eyes emitted a bright red aura, a feature enough to alarm the teen boy. "Yeah, I figured," he quipped.

"Now my master's pulse is one with your own. Ask yourself-what does he desire from you?"

When Jane spoke, it was as if Kai could hear another two voices. He could hear Jane's, but there was another voice, almost like a hushed whisper. "He wants to know what I truly desire."

"Well?"

"I-am a child prodigy in the scientific community. I'm touted as a genius, I'm well known, and I have enough funding to continue my research until I grow old. I've made my sister Jenny proud, and my parents-" she stopped, looking down. Clenching her fist, she began to tirade angrily, "my parents never let me have any friends. It was always about living up to expectations and quietly studying in my room from day to night to meet father's expectations. I don't want that for me."

"You don't enjoy your luxuries?"

"I do, but-"

"Then what is it you seek for yourself?" the singular voice of the unown continued asking.

"I don't know, I-"

"You know deep down in your heart just as my master does, but you must say it out loud. What do you _truly_ desire?"

"I-"

"What do you truly desire?"

" _Freedom!_ " Jane screamed, bringing the room to a silence.

The black beings stared silently, eyes focused on the teen girl.

"Freedom?" they asked. "Is that it?"

"No, freedom is only the beginning. I want something that belongs to me, something I didn't do for my family's name or on my father's command. I want to have dreams of my own. I want to _dream_."

"Jane," Kai said quietly, completely awestruck.

Suddenly, the unown began to laugh in its singular voice. The herd of ancient beings began to circle around the room. "Dream, indeed! What a young lady!"

"W-well, what's so funny about it?" Jane said, flustered.

"My master is very happy indeed! He dances in his graceful slumber beyond this door. You have proven yourself worthy, Jane Ronkowski."

Jane grunted, falling to the ground as the red light in her eyes faded. The room fell quiet.

Kai walked over to Jane. "Are you alright?"

" _Fan_ tastic," she replied, looking around. Standing up, she paced the room frantically, moving her head left and right. "What happened to the unown?"

"I don't know."

"Return to my master's chamber when the other four guardians have proven themselves worthy to the other masters. Return...on the day of reckoning..."

"Wait! What do you mean by that?!" Jane yelled out to the voice of the unown, which he could hear but not see.

"You will learn...when it is time," the voice said, dissipating at the last words before seemingly fading away.

"What's that all about?" Kai asked, crossing his arms.

"I wish I could tell you," Jane answered quietly.

Their silence was broken when the sound of the rumbling of rocks came from the tunnel in which they had entered.

"That sounds like it's coming from the entrance. Maybe it's our ticket out of here," Kai said.

Jane nodded. "Let's go."

* * *

"You guys hear that?" Roy asked.

"It's coming from the Entei puzzle room!" Jenny added. _Jane...what happened down there?_

"Come on guys!" Aster said, sprinting ahead.

They soon came upon the Entei puzzle room. There they saw Kai and Jane, both lying on the floor and breathing heavily.

"They're okay!" Flynn said, exhaling deeply.

"Kai!" Aster jumped at the teen boy, knocking him to the ground with a hug. "Don't go anywhere without parental permission, young man!"

"You're not my pops." He replied. Looking back, he noticed the floor showed no signs of earthquake damage, let alone an entry. _It's exactly like it was when we came in here_ , he thought. _I just don't get how it's possible._

"Hey, Kai!" Kai looked away from Aster and noticed Roy standing above him. The thief smiled, slapping Kai across the back.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"Just good to see you back in one piece. I can't be liable for anything that happens to my contractors."

"Contractor? Oh yeah, your goon act."

"Hey," Roy said, putting his hand out and helping Kai up. "Don't call me goon."

"Jane, are you okay?" Jenny asked the teen girl.

Jane nodded quietly. "Yeah." She turned to Kai, who was conversing with Roy and Aster. _Friends_ _, huh?_

"I take it you have a lot to explain to the four of us," Flynn guessed.

"Make that _six,_ " a voice said from behind them. "Although that may not be the case when we're through."

Kai and the others turned to the entrance of the chamber. Two men-dressed as if ready to go war-stood at the doorway, each holding a pokéball.

"You guys are my contractor's men," Roy said, stepping forward. "Why did he send you _now_?"

"He wants us to tell you your contract is terminated. You have four keys in your hands, and you didn't make a single move," one of them stated. "You lied to him. You have one of the items yourself, and he wants as many as he can get."

"So that's it?" Roy muttered, clenching his fist. He then took off his shades, revealing his piercing eyes. "I may be a lowlife, but if there's one thing I can't stand-it's a breach of honor."

 _Green eyes,_ Flynn thought. _Could he be-_

"Mind if I step in?" Kai asked.

"Kai."

"Don't get the wrong idea. I just want to even the odds. Plus, I have some _venting_ I need to do. I hope you're ready for this."

"Just don't get in my way," said Roy, a smirk on his face.

"Sorry, but we don't have the intention of letting little boys show us up," one of the men said, the other laughing. "Prepare to lose."

* * *

 **Author's Note [7-25-15]:**

I'd like tot thank Pokestets23 and Darth Kokkinos for actively reading my stories.

There's one more part in this "mini-arc" coming. There's a lot more action coming up in the next chapter, so be prepared.

Oh, and if you want to chill with other authors and exchange stories, come to **Arcadian Sands**. The link is on Darth Kokkino's bio.

R & R, and _enjoy._


	8. A Ruin Mystery Part III

**Chapter 8: A Ruin Mystery Part III**

Looking for the owner of the unown sketch, Kai and his friends wandered into the excavation site of Alph, the former capital of the ancient kingdom of Alph. After Jane pleased the master of her key-the mythical pokémon Entei-she became the first of the five guardians to become an equal, or an accepted companion of one of the five legendary creatures. Unfortunately, the consequence was everything but transparent, attracting a duo of pokémon trainers set out to acquire the items by all means necessary-and to terminate Roy's contract with their boss in the process. Having stepped up to the plate, how will Kai and Roy handle the duo?

* * *

"Let's make this a two on two battle," Roy suggested. He clicked his pokéball and tossed it to the ground, releasing his pidgey. The bird pokémon ascended into the sky and let out a shriek.

"A pidgey? They're toying with us, Dex."

"Dex?" Kai asked.

"Perhaps we haven't properly introduced ourselves. I'm Hunter."

"I am Dex."

They jumped instantaneously into various poses, before pointing at Kai and Roy, who watched in bewilderment. "Together, we form Dex Hunter!"

Roy groaned. Kai simply looked away, trying not to roll his eyes.

Aster tilted her fedora, glaring at the duo. "Creepy old guys."

"She's cold!" Dex yelled.

"And we're not old guys!" Hunter added, several veins showing out on his chrome dome.

"I don't know if I should pity them or be afraid of her," Kai muttered to Roy, who nodded in agreement. "Well, I know who I'm going with." Kai threw his pokéball to the ground. In a flash of light, the teen trainer's fire type pokémon stood firmly on the ground, staring down the two men.

"Is that all?" Dex smirked, throwing his pokéball. "Let me show you what _real_ speed is all about." Out of the pokéball came a green bug pokémon. The pokémon boasted blades for arms, both of which it swiped rapidly in the air while letting out a cry.

"That's a scyther," Jenny commented. "But why a scyther? That-"

"Is weak to fire and flying," Flynn finished.

"Don't forget about the Hunter in Dex Hunter! Meet my companion!" Hunter chucked his pokéball next to Scyther. The shape of the capsule's white light turned into that of another bug pokémon, a menacing creature with a brown shell. The pokémon shook the ground with ferocious stomps while clacking two large pinchers on the top of his head.

"Another gardening tool?" Kai remarked, angering the duo.

"How dare you!" Hunter yelled angrily.

"They're obviously trying to get in our heads," Dex remarked, grabbing Hunter's arm. "Let's let our tag team combination do the talking!"

"Tag team combination?" Kai and Roy asked in unison.

"Prepare for a dual assault of speed and power," Hunter shouted. "We'll take the first move!"

"Scyther, move in with your slash attack." the bug type dashed forward with much rapidity, getting in front of Growlithe in mere seconds. The fire type evaded the attack, sliding rightwards. Scyther veered backwards with a turn, narrowly avoiding a collision with the bystanders, all of whom stepped backwards to step out of the field of battle.

"Pidgey, tackle attack now!" Roy ordered. The flying type swooped towards Scyther, the swift pokémon retreating backwards behind the pinsir. As Pidgey sweeped in for a blow against the vulnerable Scyther, Pinsir stepped in the way, blocking the attack with its head.

"Gotcha!" Hunter said with a grin.

"Ember!" Kai commanded to Growlithe. Growlithe barked affirmatively, then exhaled several orbs of fire.

Roy scowled at, yelling at his pokémon. "Move!" The bird pokémon responded, ascending to narrowly avoid the attacks, which immediately landed on Pinsir, sending the pokémon backwards.

Suddenly, Scyther jumped up from above, landing a quick blow on Pidgey. The attack pushed the bird pokémon backwards, but did little to veer it off course. "Pidgey, gust-"

Growlithe jumped in front of Pidgey, charging at the green bug pokémon. "Ember attack!" Having heard Roy's command, Pidgey instinctively flapped its wings at Growlithe, the pokémon being forced to avert its attack and get out of the way of the gust. Scyther bounced behind Pinsir, the stronger brown pokémon providing solid foundation against the whipping wind. When the attack subsided, sand covered the air, making visibility foggy. In moment's notice, Scyther jumped towards Growlithe rapidly and slammed into it, knocking the fire type backwards.

"What's your deal? You should have called off the attack!" Kai said with a scowl at Roy.

"Me? You're the one who keeps getting in the way!" Roy angrily said to Kai back, butting heads with the teen.

"You need to pay more attention!"

"You need to stay out of my way!"

"Cut it out, you guys!" Aster yelled.

"Stay out of this!" They yelled back in unison.

"Ah, a tiff," Dex said with a chuckle. "Double team maneuver." Scyther charged towards Growlithe and Pidgey, but changed directions at the last moment. Suddenly, the pokémon seemed to be in many places at once. Growlithe and Pidgey moved their heads frantically, unable to follow the movements.

"Shoot at all of them, Growlithe!" Kai ordered. The pokémon fired a barrage of ember attacks at each image, hoping to strike the correct Scyther. The last attack made impact with one of the images, knocking Scyther backwards.

"What?!" Dex shouted. _I didn't anticipate that much sheer firepower_ , he thought. _This has to end quickly._

"Tackle!" Pidgey swooped in for a tackle attack on the Scyther, but as the green bug pokémon bounced back, Pinsir sprang out from behind with rapid velocity, knocking Growlithe backwards using its pincers.

"That had to hurt!" Dex said with a laugh.

"It's that fast?!" Kai yelled. "Are you okay, Growlithe?" Growlithe stood up slowly, giving a soft nod, but clearly panting heavily.

"No way," Roy muttered quietly.

"A brilliant strategy and a game of assumptions," Flynn noted.

"What are you getting at?" Jenny asked.

"They presented Kai and Roy with false limitations, and played their games within those limitations. Kai and Roy have been playing their game. When Pinsir came out and attacked Growlithe with such speed-"

"They didn't anticipate Pinsir to be so fast," Jenny finished, to which Flynn nodded. "They let themselves by fooled by the idea that pinsir are big and slow, when in reality it seems as though it is surprisingly agile for its size."

"That's so unfair!" Aster whined.

"Scyther is looking exhausted from having to avoid Growlithe and Pidgey's movements, but it's going to take a powerful hit to break down Pinsir's defense," Flynn said to Aster. "The two of them need to work together."

Jane watched on quietly, her mouth open, her movement stiff. _What will you do, Kai?_

"Just give up," Dex told Kai and Roy. "You have no chance. Just hand over the goods."

"You think I'm going to quit and kneel over cause of some odds?" Kai replied back. "I'm a lot of stupid things, and one of them is being too stupid to quit in the middle of anything!" Growlithe barked, standing by its master.

"Guess we're just going to have to back that sappy speech up," Roy said with a grin on his face. He looked at Kai, the two of them sharing a glance. Pidgey ascended above Kai's Growlithe, awaiting the next move.

"Agreed. Let's mess things up in the only way we know how," Kai said, giving a thumbs up.

"Pinsir, use your vicegrip on Growlithe!"

"Scyther, use your slash and jump in front of Pinsir!"

"Pidgey, get in front of Growlithe and prepare for a gust attack!"

The bird pokémon swooped ahead of Growlithe, ready to engage with the two enemy pokémon. Scyther dashed ahead of Pinsir using its superior speed, the two bug pokémon still on course for a collision with Pidgey.

"Wait for it," Kai uttered under his breath.

"Almost," said Roy.

"Prepare to lose!" Hunter yelled.

"Now!" Kai and Roy shouted in unison. With a complete turn, Pidgey turned towards Growlithe, flapping its wings with ferocity. Growlithe followed suit, firing a barrage of ember attacks at Pidgey. The ember attacks became entrapped in the gust, then circled back towards Growlithe, slamming into the fire type and making it skid backwards.

Scyther slashed into Pidgey, knocking the exhausted bird pokémon to the ground. The flying type remained on the ground, firmly unconscious. Scyther, unable to stop, skidded towards Growlithe.

"Now, Kai!" Roy yelled. "Show them how we mess things up!"

"What are you talking about?" Dex said, his eyebrows raised. His mouth fell wide open when he saw Growlithe facing an out-of-control Scyther. "No, stop!"

"Show them your fire!" Kai shouted. Growlithe barked viciously, then opened its mouth and exhaled flames. The attack looked far different and much larger than an ember attack.

"That's not ember," Roy said, a smirk on his face. "That's-"

"A flame wheel attack," finished Flynn. "I see now. When Pidgey fired that ember attack back at Growlithe, it must have activated an innate ability Growlithe has called 'flash fire'."

"Flash fire?" Aster asked.

"Whenever Growlithe is exposed to fire, its own power is increased," Jenny explained.

Aster looked back at Kai and Growlithe, then let out a giggle and put her fist in the air. "Beat him, big bro!"

The circular flames drifted with quick speed towards Scyther, slamming the pokémon with unusually strong power and knocking it backwards. The attack pushed the bug type back towards Pinsir.

"Move!" Hunter ordered in vain, but it was too late. The amplified flame wheel and Scyther collided with Pinsir, knocking both pokémon backwards and rendering them unable to move.

"No way," Dex said, returning his Scyther to its pokéball.

"We lost," Hunter uttered.

"You did," Kai stated.

"But that was a good battle, mister!" Aster said, giggling as she ran towards Dex and Hunter and shook their hands. Kai and Roy stared, baffled.

"What are you doing, Aster?" Kai questioned.

"They're a little silly, but they aren't bad guys," said Aster, a smile on her face.

"S-Shut up," said Hunter, flustered. Dex turned his head and crossed his arms, trying not to look at the girl.

"Honestly, I Just don't get it," Kai said with a groan.

"Hey, we'll leave for now!" Dex yelled to Kai and Roy, grabbing their attention. "But we'll be back!"

"We will," Hunter added, "and we'll beat you. Dex Hunter doesn't plan on staying down and out against little runts forever."

Kai sighed, then looked at Roy. The two of them exchanged slaps on the back, after which Kai turned back to the tag team duo. "Yeah."

"And Roy," began Dex, "your former boss is waiting for you at Goldenrod City."

Roy nodded, a smile on his face.

* * *

"Are you telling me _you're_ the gym leader of Violet City?" Kai said, stepping backwards in shock.

"Sure am," Flynn replied with a smile. "And I think you've earned your first stripe." He reached into his backpack, taking out a circular pin from his pocket, the shape depicting metallic wings.

Kai put his palm out and accepted the badge, a glow on his eyes. He gripped the object tightly, placing it into his backpack. "I'm on my way, pops."

"Yeah!" Aster affirmed, grabbing Kai's hand.

"We'll be heading out now," Roy noted, earning a gaze from Kai.

"We?"

"Flynn filled us in on the details of the whole 'destiny' fiasco."

"But how could you have-"

"A source close to one of the former guardians told us," Jenny explained.

"A source?" Roy asked.

"Confidential."

"Well, whatever," Roy said with a shrug, then he turned to Jane, who was looking at him and his two traveling companions. "Are you coming?"

"Me?" Jane questioned.

"Is there any other guardian in the area?" Kai asked, his eyebrows raised.

"Very funny."

"Going? Where are you going, Jane?" Jenny inquired. Jane's eyes veered down to her hands, and she began twiddling with her thumbs. "You know what father would say about you abandoning your research work."

"Yeah, but I-"

"He might not accept you going out like this, and he might even disown you for not following in his footsteps."

"But I-"

"Hey!" Kai yelled at her, clenching his fist. Jane looked up immediately, staring at him. "What about all that stuff you said downstairs? All that talk about freedom, and being able to have something of your own? To live your own life? Was that all fake?!"

Flustered, Jane scowled at him angrily before sprinting towards him and punching him in the head repeatedly. " _Idiot_! D-Don't talk about that stuff in front of everyone! You're such an idiot!"

"Ow!"

"Is that really how you feel, Jane?" Jenny asked, a serious expression on her face.

Jane gulped, then nodded, her fist firmly tightened. "Yes. I want this."

Jenny's expression softened into a smile, then she hugged her little sister. "I was just testing you."

"Sis?"

"But it is true that you're going to have to deal with father."

"I know."

Kai groaned, rubbing his head. "Are we going or not?" Aster jumped up and hit him on the head, making him fall back in pain again. "Stop!"

"Don't be an insensitive jerk," Aster snapped at him, crossing her arms.

* * *

And so, as the orange sun set on another day full of challenges for Kai and his companions, so would a new day rise with new challenges. With Jane in tow and four of the five guardians together, what obstacles lied in wait for Kai and Aster?

* * *

 **Author's Note [7-31-15]:**

And so, the stage for the story has truly been set, and now the real fun is about to begin. Every Friday, as promised, but every chapter will have its fair share of errors. I plan on going back and proofreading each chapter slowly. I am also looking for a beta reader to point out grammar and diction errors.

R & R and most importantly, _enjoy_.


	9. Onyxpected Scenario! Special Trainer!

**Chapter 9: Onyxpected Scenario! Special Trainer?!**

With the humbling but strange trials of the Ruins of Alph behind them and the addition of Jane to the group, Kai and co. set out for Union Cave, the sole connecting route between Violet City and Azalea Town, and the home of Kai's 2nd gym badge. With a day's rest at the pokémon center near the foot of the cave under their feet, they began their trek through the cavern.

* * *

"Are you positive we're going the right way?" asked Jane, her arms crossed.

"Hey, you got to lay back and trust me a little," Roy retorted. He shrugged slightly, then scanned his surroundings. The layout of the area everywhere consisted of rock formations and small bodies of water.

"Why is it so c-cold?!" Aster said, shivering. Suddenly, she felt the warm embrace of a cotton sweater wrap around her. She giggled and smirked at Kai, the owner of the hoodie. "You're _so cute_ , big bro!"

"Shut up." The teen boy turned away, flustered. His eyes then veered to Jane, who averted her eyes away from his. _What's her deal?_

* * *

Jane stood in front of Kai and Roy's room at the pokémon center lodgings, her eyes looking at the floor. _How do I thank him?_

She folded her hands, then moved to knock on the door. The teen girl tapped on the door, which shockingly creaked open slightly. She could hear two voices shouting from inside the room, arguing about some pressing issue, but she couldn't make out the words.

"K-Kai?" Jane asked. No reply. "Hey, I just want...I just want to say..."

Unable to talk over the muffled voices, she clenched her fist and pushed the door open. "Look, I just want to thank-" She went pale at the site of Roy sitting on top of Kai, flat, and walked out without a word.

"What was that all about?" Kai wondered.

"I have this etching feeling in the back of my mind about something," Roy added, then he shrugged, "but I'm not going to get up until you admit squirtle is better than charmander!'

"No!"

* * *

"W-what?" Jane questioned Kai.

 _It's not my fault she walked in on Roy pinning me to the ground over a stupid pokémon argument!_ He looked away from her. "Nothing. Hey Aster, how was Liam cool with you tagging along with us?"

"And what about Slim?" Roy asked, grabbing his shoulders at the very thought.

"It's alright with brother Liam," Aster responded, skipping along the rocks cheerfully. "Kai already beat him in a battle."

"That's really all it takes?" Kai said, scratching his head.

"Yeah, brother Liam is cooler than you, big bro-" Aster fell to the ground, the rest of her friends looking at her in bewilderment. "Ow!" Several pebbles and rocks fell by the group, down the slight slope they were traveling down on. When Kai went to go help, another set of stones-larger than the last-plummeted to the ground, forcing him to jump back.

Roy and the others looked around. "I don't really hear anything," Roy remarked, shrugging. "What's with the rocks?"

"It's probably nothing," Kai responded, helping Aster up and walking ahead. He stopped dead in his tracks when a faint rumbling noise fell to his ears.

"What is it, big bro?"

"You mean you don't hear it?"

"I don't know what you're talking about dude," Roy commented. "But I have a feeling we should keep moving."

Suddenly, Kai could hear another distinct noise: the pattering of footsteps, really swift footsteps. The crumbling of the rocks grew more frequent, and the footsteps became drowned out by the constant rumble from earlier.

"Man, I hear it now!" said Roy, looking back along with the others. "That's loud enough to wake anyone up from a jigglypuff concert!" He then took off his shades and squinted in the direction of the rumble, and saw what appeared to be a person running towards them waving.

Tweaking her spectacles, Jane made out the person: a girl about their age with black hair wearing a green jacket and jeans. "Run!" they could hear her yelling as she got closer to them. "Don't stand there like sheep! _Run_!"

Kai eyes grew wide when he saw what she was running from. The others quavered in their spots as the girl in black hair passed by them, grabbing Roy and pulling her backwards. Roy turned and began to run away from what appeared to be a giant snake made entirely of stone. The others followed suit and began to run.

It took Roy one more glance to make out the, immediately mouthing the words while panting. "Onix."

"What?!" Kai yelled. "Questions later!"

"An onix!"

"Yeah, we know that!" the girl in black hair responded. "Just run faster! That thing is gaining on us!"

Turning around the bend into a small corner, the kids expected the giant pokémon would not follow suit. Instead, the rock pokémon slithered through the crevice with ease, knocking through the rocks in the cavern like toys.

While running, Kai grabbed a stick and through it at the onix, only aggravating the pokémon further.

"What was that all about?!" Jane chastised.

"I thought it would go for the fetch," Kai in a huff, causing Jane to roll her eyes.

Aster lost her grip on Kai's sweaty palm, falling to the ground and scraping her knee. The others stopped. The rock snake steadily approached the group.

Kai took out his pokéball, throwing the object to the ground. In a flash of light, Growlithe stood in front of the group. _There's got to be some place we can hide!_

"What are you doing?" the girl in black hair asked.

"Buying us time! Use flash attack!" Growlithe nodded, stepping towards the untamed pokémon. The fire type's eyes began to gleam, emitting a bright white glow. The rock snake roared in pain, slamming its tail into the rocks around it. Several rock boulders in front of it came falling to the ground, obstructing its pathway. When the vision of the pokémon cleared, the group of kids were out of sight.

* * *

"That was cutting it close," Roy said weakly, his hands on his knees.

"I guess you could say we should've expected the onyxpected!" the girl with black hair joked. The others turned away from her and grumbled. "I guess I should introduce myself before I make jokes."

"Don't know, don't care," Roy replied. "I've really become a friend wagon recently."

"What does even mean?" Jane asked.

"You think we're your friends?" Aster asked, a huge smile on her face. She bounced up and hugged the thief, who tried in vain to remove the grasp of the girl. "You're so cute!"

"Get off!"

Growlithe watched the two, panting happily and quietly sitting next to Kai.

Kai rolled his eyes, then turned back to the black hair girl. "My name is Kai. I figure you should know me since we're going to have to work together to fix the mess you've made."

"Call me Alexis, Alexis Jones! And what do you mean the mess _I_ made?"

"Well, it _was_ you who riled up that onix, wasn't it?"

"No! I just walked by it like I did most pokémon in this cave, but it came after me!" Alexis narrated, imitating the slither of the rock snake.

"That's weird," Roy said, fingers touching his chin.

"It's a giant rock snake," Kai remarked. "You can't tell me you expected cuddly bunnies and hoppips."

"He means the pokémon around here aren't usually that aggressive," Jane explained.

Alexis jumped up onto a flat boulder nearby and pumped her fist in the air. "Alright, ladies! Time to take action, otherwise that onix is going to have a nasty reaction! We need to come up with a plan of attack to take care of that thing."

"And you have a plan?" Kai guessed.

"Yeah!" she yelled into his face. "I need you to distract that onix again in whatever way you can while I use _this_." she reached into her pocket and pulled out a red object with an antenna garnishing the top of it.

"You're going to communicate with it?"

"No, that's a capture styler," Jane explained to Roy. "Pokémon rangers use it to tame aggressive pokémon temporarily."

"You know a lot about this stuff, miss!" Alexis said, grabbing Jane by the shoulders, who appeared flustered. "Are you from my home region?"

"N-no, I'm from Johto," Jane said, trying to create personal space.

"I-I don't feel so good," Aster said, grabbing her noise. "Ah...Ah...I'm okay." She inhaled through her nose, sniffling silently.

Suddenly, the silence around them turned into a loud rumble. The rumbling sequentially got quieter and louder. The rocks around them shook.

"It's looking for us," Alexis noted. "Here's the plan. Kai, you and blondie distract the onix's attention away from me while I circle around and use my capture styler on the giant thing. That onix is blocking our only way out so we have to tame it temporarily."

"Why not just catch it?" Roy questioned.

"Be my guest," she replied with a smirk on her face, to which Roy scoffed.

"Alright, let's come up with-"

"Ah choo!" Aster yelled, an echo vibrating through the entire cave. Alexis grabbed her by the mouth, then looked around. The loudness of the rumble grew into a violent shake again. When the group looked outside the small crevice in which they were hidden, they could see the rock snake approaching towards them.

"N-No time to think," Alexis shouted. "We have to do it _now_. Go!"

Squeezing out of the crevice first, Kai and Growlithe rushed forward, Kai waving his hands and Growlithe using flash attack to blind the gigantic rock pokémon. The attack did not have the same effect, the onix instead closing its eyes and swinging its tail. Kai and Growlithe ran backwards, narrowly avoiding the swing, then advanced once more.

Roy bounced from ahead of them, gesturing at the wild pokémon in the most inappropriate ways imaginable. "Try some of this!"

"He did not just show that to onix," Jane said with a groan.

"Come on!" Alexis whispered to Jane, nudging her to move.

"That thing is way too smart to be a wild pokémon!" Kai yelled, stepping backwards as onix swung again.

Aster watched from behind the crevice while Jane slowly shadowed Alexis, stepping behind the special trainer.

Alexis attempted to sneak behind the onix. _Just need to get in the right position to make a run,_ she thought. _Close enough so that I'm out of the tail's way._

Onix roared furiously, slamming into the rocks around it while slithering towards Kai, Growlithe, and Roy.

"Anytime now, sweetheart!" Roy screamed.

"A-Alright!" Alexis bounced ahead and made her way through the surrounding rocks towards the onix. She gulped, her hands shaking and her heart beating. While removing her capture styler, she accidentally dropped it to the floors. As she turned and reacted, onix slammed into the surrounding cavern area again, a force strong enough to knock Alexis over. As she fell over, another object fell out of her bag: a small bell.

Onix immediately twisted its body towards Alexis, the eyes of the angry pokémon glaring at the teen girl. Alexis tried to move, but her body refused. _Why can't I move?_ Suddenly, the rock type moved towards her with ferocity, ready to attack her head on.

Roy jumped in front of her, hands stretched out. Using one of his hands, he reached out and grabbed a pokéball, throwing it to the floor. When the capsule opened, a blue snake-like pokémon with large eyes and white wings for ears appeared before them.

"What is that? It's so adorable!" Aster said, squealing.

Kai and Jane simply watched on, unable to bring themselves to do anything but stare with wide eyes and open mouths.

"Using your thunder wave attack to paralyze the onix!" Roy commanded. Dragonair emitted a wave of electricity, which hit the rock type directly in the face, stopping the rock snake in its track.

"Onix is a ground type!" Jane yelled.

"It'll work!" Kai assured.

"I was wondering when he'd use it," Alexis said, a smile on her face and a tear in her eyes.

"Don't sit around, capture style it or whatever!" Kai shouted.

Alexis nodded, springing on to her feet and circling around the paralyzed onix as it struggled to get free. She clicked the styler, the device's antenna creating a yellow glow around the rock type as Alexis finished her circle and stood triumphantly.

"Stop!" Alexis ordered. The rock type, now free from the temporarily paralysis resulting from the attack, stopped. Kai fell down next to Growlithe, Aster and Jane joining him. Roy returned his dragonair quietly, walking over to the group.

"An electric type move working on a ground type," Jane said, crossing her arms. She snapped her fingers when she realized. "The cave is damp due to water."

"So you do remember your physics, miss published scientist," Kai commented, getting hit across the head by Jane. "Ow!"

"You did it, Roy!" Alexis cheered, grabbing him from behind.

"Yeah." He turned to Alexis, removing his shades. "Wait, how do you know my name?"

"And this bell," Kai said, now holding the bell in his hands. On closer examination, the bell had a thunder bolt embedded into it. "This looks a lot like your bell, Roy."

Aster screamed, jumping on Kai and pounding him in the head as he ran around madly to try and get her off. "I have _so_ many questions!"

"Don't beat me for answers!"

* * *

And so, another day, another wild adventure for Kai and his companions. With the help of Alexis-a special type of trainer-they managed to overcome the might of a colossal onix, but many questions remained unanswered. Why was the onix so aggressive? Why does Roy have a dragonair? And just how does Alexis know Roy?

* * *

 **Author's Note [8-7-15]:**

And so, another chapter introduces another ally.

I'd like to thank Darth Kokkinos and Pokestets23 for actively reading my story. My hope is that in the future, our forum **Arcadian Sands** will attract readers and writers of many different genres who need only have a love for fanfiction in common.

My good friend Pokestets23 is coming out with a new story. For those of you who are fans of Stet's pokémon journey stories following trainer Drake Smith from Kanto to Johto, this will come as good news.

The story is a sequel to Drake's adventures, and it will feature a completely new cast of characters in the Drake Smith pokémon universe. The story will be set in the Hoenn region!

If you haven't read the Drake Smith stories by Pokestets23 yet, now is a good time!

Anyway, R & R and most importantly, _enjoy._


	10. Azalea Town: Disturbed Harmony

**Chapter 10: Azalea Town: Disturbed Harmony**

After taking down the ferocious onix of Union Cave, Kai and his friends finally reach the outside of the cave at sunsets. Walking through the open meadow, it was not long before Kai and his friends saw the bright lights of Azalea Town, a bustling trade town where pokémon and humans lived in harmony. Tired from the day's endeavors, the adventurers made their way to the pokémon center, looking for lodge for the night.

* * *

"Alright, we got two rooms," Roy stated. He then took off his shades. "Who's staying in my room?"

"Is that really even a question?" Jane said, rolling her eyes. "Me, Aster, and Alexis in one room."

"He's just being a genie!" Aster said, trying not to grin.

"A genie?" Alexis asked. "What a weird bunch!"

"Never mind that! Where's Kai? We have to talk."

"Talking to his dad," Aster told them, pointing towards the telephone room across the lobby.

At that moment, Kai walked out quietly, humming a tune to himself as his companions looked on. He looked back at them when he caught their gaze.

"Kai," Roy began, "we're bunking together in one room while the girls are bunking in the other."

"Fine by me." He turned to Jane, who had turned pale at Roy's words. "What?"

"Shut up," she said, giving off a distant but cold vibe. Kai and the others backed away slightly.

"Scary," Aster whispered to Kai, who nodded.

"So now that we're all sitting down, tell us about the bell," Roy requested Alexis. "How long have you had it?"

"Oh this little thing? Is this about that prophecy thing you guys were mumbling about on the way down?" They nodded. Alexis raised her eyebrows.

"Guys, we're probably freaking her out," Jane interrupted. "How would you react to-"

"I believe you."

Kai, Roy, and Aster let out a collective shrug while Jane gawked on, removing her spectacles and staring with wide eyes.

Alexis grinned. "Gut feeling."

"Well, we don't know too much about it ourselves," Kai said, scratching his head. "So we're just as confused as you are."

"So many questions!" Aster yelled, jumping onto Kai's back and rubbing his head viciously.

"Get off!" Kai shouted, running around the lobby in a panic.

Roy rolled his eyes. "So what kind of a trainer are you? I've never seen a capture stylist before."

Alexis giggled at his incorrect pronunciation, then reached into her bag and took out her device. "Only rangers and ranger trainees who graduate from a trainer school in my region with the ranger class are allowed to carry these guys. And they're called _capture stylers._ "

"If I had to guess, you're from Hoenn," Roy responded with confidence, to which Alexis nodded with a smile.

"What tipped you off?"

"The visor hat you're wearing, the green jacket, the orange sneakers. Only someone from colorful Hoenn could make that fashion statement."

"Don't flatter me!"

"So you _are_ a pokémon ranger then," Jane guessed.

"Sort of," Alexis said with a shrug. "You have to master the basics of a capture styler and take this really crazy exam in order to get into the only official ranger school around."

"The Fiore ranger academy," Jane answered. "So why are you traveling around right now?"

"It's nearly impossible to crack the exam without some real life travel experience," Alexis explained. She sighed. "The next exam period isn't until the coming autumn, so I'm traveling the Johto region."

"Why Johto?" Roy asked immediately.

"Why not?" She slid closer to Roy on the couch, making the thief back off slowly. "You don't like having me around?"

"B-Back off!"

"Easy, tough guy! I have family that's from Johto!"

"So then will you travel with us, Alexis?" Jane asked. "At least until we get answers from our stop at Goldenrod City."

Alexis nodded. "I'll come." She then turned to Roy, who was yelling at Kai and Aster to be quiet as their play-fighting was attracting laughing and chuckling among the guests at the lobby, the nurse behind the counter included. _I'll make you remember me, Roy. Remember that time._ Her attention snapped back to reality when she heard a thud and several articles fell to the floor, including a pair of glasses and a sunhat.

Kai grabbed his head while Aster apologized. He put his hand out to whoever he had bumped into, holding his head with his other hand. "Are you okay, miss?"

"No No No! I'm sorry, it was all my fault," the girl rambled quickly. "I wasn't watching where I was going, mister!"

From her voice, Kai could tell she was about their age. He opened his eyes to look at her, a girl with brown pigtailed hair donning overalls. Kai helped her gather her items, pokéballs and gardening tools.

"Jeez, do you always bump into people?" Jane asked Kai, helping the girl pick up her items. "I'm sorry he's such a klutz."

"What are you, my lawyer?"

"Shut up, klutz."

"No, miss, it was my fault!" She picked up her glasses and hat and put them back on. By this point, the other people in the lobby had turned their attention away to their own conversations.

"No, Kai is most definitely a klutz," Aster added, putting a slight smile on Jane's face and a scowl on Kai's.

The girl laughed. "You guys sure are a funny bunch. My name's Ingrid. I'm Bugsy's assistant."

"The gym leader Bugsy?" Roy asked.

"No one else but!"

"You can try, but he's been refusing to accept challenges for a couple weeks now due to that problem down in the well."

"Well?" Alexis questioned. "Oh yeah! The small little one we passed by on the way here."

"Don't be fooled by the outside!" Ingrid exclaimed. "That well is bigger than the inside of a snorlax's tummy once you step in!"

"Point taken," Kai said, crossing his arms. "What kind of problem are we talking about?"

"There's a loud wailing and rumbling that comes from inside the well almost all day. It stops around sunset, then starts again early in the morning!"

The pokémon nurse walked up to the group, holding two keys. She looked quite nervous about the whole ordeal. "It's driving a lot of local residents crazy. It's most definitely the cry of a slowpoke."

"Slowpoke?" Roy questioned.

"No doubt about it," the nurse replied, an affirming nod from Ingrid.

Roy stood up and stretched, grabbing the two keys and handing one of them over to the girls. He yawned loudly. "Let's ask the man himself."

Ingrid shrugged, looking down. "Don't blame me if he goes primeape on you."

Kai stood and stretched widely. "I have to get that badge regardless, and I want it fair and square, so we might as well beat the answers out of Bugsy! I've got a league waiting for me to conquer!"

"You tell them, Kai!"

Roy joined Kai in his awkward pose, the two of them attracting attention again from the people in the lobby.

Jane slapped herself on the head. "They're starting to look like those Dex Hunter goofs."

"They weren't _that_ bad," Aster remarked with a smile.

"I don't even know what a Dex Hunter is," Alexis said to Ingrid, who shook her head quietly.

* * *

While Kai and his friends drifted away into sleep, a couple of old foes remained within striking distance, planning their next move...

* * *

"All five of the targets have converged," Yin said quietly, throwing a piece of wood into a toasty fire.

"So what's your next stupid plan, Yin?" Yang said angrily. "They even defeated that stupid rock snake!"

"I was just testing the water by with some old tricks," Yin responded, looking at a black device with multiple buttons tied firmly to his belt.

"Why can't we just attack them now?"

"They're traveling in numbers."

"So let's call reinforcements-" Yin put his hand to Yang's lips, moving closer to her. His eyes seemed to pierce right through her. She could hardly let out a breath.

He shook his head, then slowly turned and overlooked the rock formations in the cave. "How long have I been your superior, Yang?"

Yang gulped, then steadied herself. "About 2 years now, sir."

Yin turned around, a smile on his face. "Please keep calling me Yin."

She sighed. "Yes, Yin."

"You've known me long enough to know this is only the beginning of our game of chess with that petty thief and his companions." He clenched his fist. _And that other brat and his growlithe._ With a sigh, he sat back on the rock floor. "We'll have our way with them, and _we'll_ reap the rewards."

Yang immediately knew what he meant. _He has no intention of calling reinforcements_ , she thought. "You don't mean-"

"We have to finish the job before the higher ups in Team Rocket while only _we_ know of the guardian's identities," Yin explained. _They'll never reach Goldenrod City._

* * *

Not able to sleep through the loud echoing coming from inside the well, Kai and Aster made their way to the gym as soon as it opened to challengers, the teen boy looking to earn his 2nd badge...

* * *

Kai knocked on the door loudly. Ingrid opened the door immediately, looking both messy and incredibly irate. "What the houndoom are you doing?!"

"I'm here to get my 2nd badge, just like you said!" Kai explained. Aster nodded in agreement.

"He really likes his quiet time in the morning, so he doesn't like to be-"

"Ingrid? What's with all the racket!" a raspy voice yelled from behind her. Ingrid ran back into the gym, Kai and Aster following.

When they stepped inside the facility, they were immediately surrounded by the presence of grass and trees.

"Wow!" Aster exclaimed.

"It's like a jungle in here," Kai added. Looking up, Kai saw that a huge net surrounded the forest, and there were several types of bugs and bug type pokémon around the area. Kai pointed out everything from ants to beedrill with awe, to which Aster nodded.

Suddenly, from behind the forested plot, a green-haired man dressed in rather formal but unkempt clothes stepped in. His face wore a day-old stubble, but he did not seem tired, just irritated. "And what brings you here, mister-"

"Kai Wexler."

"And I'm Aster-"

"Very well," he interrupted. "I'm not accepting any challenges right now due to that problem at the well." Aster puffed up her mouth and stared at Bugsy, who reached into his pocket and took out a pin similar to the one Flynn had given to Kai. This one had a bug-inspired pattern on it.

"Wait, you're just going to give me this?" Kai asked.

"I told you, I'm not accepting any challenges right now, so there it is." He turned to walk away, but Kai grabbed the back of his shirt.

"Fight me!" Kai yelled.

"Hands off!" Bugsy shouted back, removing Kai's hand from his back. "And when are you going to take care of this problem, Ingrid?"

"W-well, I'm trying, but I-"

"You're strong enough to, so do it! Don't you want to take over this gym from me?"

"I D-do, B-but I-"

"Hey bug eyes!" Aster shouted, her face red from having been told off earlier. Bugsy turned around, his eyes wide and blank. "What if we all go and help you find the root of that problem?"

Kai stared at her in bewilderment at first, but then snapped his fingers. "Yeah, we solve your problem, and you give me the badge." Aster nodded excitedly.

Bugsy stared at them for a moment, then smirked. "You think you can find and stop the source of a problem people have been too afraid to confront for several weeks? Entertain me."

"And why don't you?" Kai inquired.

Bugsy chuckled. "I wanted Ingrid to do it, to prove she is capable of taking my title as gym leader."

Kai turned to her. She nodded softly, looking down at her hands.

Bugsy shook his head. "She has a long way to go it seems."

"What if me and Ingrid confront this problem?"

"Kai, you can't be serious!" Ingrid said anxiously, but Kai did not waver. _How can he be so calm about something we all have no idea about?_

"It has to be just you two," Bugsy requested, a smile forming on his face.

"Why just them two?" Aster whined, stomping on the ground.

"Your friend wants a challenge? He's going to _get_ a challenge. Only you two or no deal."

"Deal," Kai replied immediately, firmly shaking Bugsy's hands.

"Don't I get a say in this?! We don't even know what's wailing down there!" Ingrid complained.

Kai shrugged, the turned to walk out. "I'll meet you at the well then."

Ingrid looked at him, flustered. "Y-yeah."

As Kai and Aster walked out and Ingrid went to prepare for the trek ahead, Bugsy stood alone in the forested area of his gym. He gazed up and let out another smile. _He kind of reminds me of someone else-his determination, it's so uncanny, but I don't quite remember who._ He pondered quietly for several minutes more, his thoughts racing to Ingrid. _I hope she realizes sooner than later what she can truly do._

* * *

 **Author's Note [8-14-15]:**

Another week, another chapter of modest character development and lighthearted fun. The next chapter will definitely be more action packed. I'm thinking of making trainer cards for the main group and providing links to them on my main page. Let me know what you think about the idea.

My good friend **Pokestets23** , who is a much better author than I could ever hope to be, has posted the first chapter of his Drake spin-off sequel, pokémon Journey 2: Hoenn League Legends. If you were a fan of Drake or you _are_ fan of classic adventure stories, look into his work.

If you want to meet and exchange stories and conversations with more passionate fanfiction authors, come to the forum **Arcadian Sands**. It is a lot of good fun!

R & R, and most importantly, _enjoy_.


	11. Slowpoke but Surely

**Chapter 11: Slowpoke but Surely**

"I can't believe that stupid bug guy won't let me go down to the well with Kai," Aster said, puffing her face angrily. She took another lick of her ice cream, then looked down with a sigh. Jane sat next to her, unable to say anything, while Roy watched town residents walking around from the window next to their table. Alexis sat across from Aster, her mouth resting on a straw in soda pop.

"Kai seems like the kind of young buck that can handle himself," Alexis reassured, sipping her drink blissfully with her eyes closed.

"I don't know," Roy responded, a grin on his face. _Finally, payback,_ he thought as he inched closer to her. "I don't think he can handle himself down there with all the big bad slowpoke, Alexis!" He chuckled with Alexis and Jane scowled at him.

Aster's frown turned into a smirk and she poked Roy on his nose, all while standing up on her chair. With a tip of her fedora, she said, "you were fighting a losing battle with him. Just remember that."

Roy gawked at Aster, the girl continuing to nod. Jane turned her head away from Roy's direction, covering her mouth, while Alexis elbowed the frozen Roy playfully. "You sure turned to stone fast," the ranger trainee remarked.

"Still though, you wonder if that thick-headed idiot is going to get the two of them into another mess," Jane commented, shaking her head.

* * *

Meanwhile, on the outskirts of town, Kai and Ingrid had just made their descent into the mysterious Slowpoke Well, home to many common-and uncommon-creatures, and the source of a consistent and inhuman wailing...

* * *

"If you're still insisting on doing this with me," Ingrid said, climbing down the last step of the long ladder leading into the well, "then we'd better make this quick."

Kai jumped the last few steps down the ladder, creating an echo and startling Ingrid. "Why?"

"Nobody has been in this well for over a decade," Ingrid whispered, her voice trailing off. She looked down at her hands, her palms shaking and sweating.

"Are you okay?"

"I-I don't like to come to this place."

"You'll get used to it," Kai replied, walking ahead of her. "Let me look a bit deeper."

"W-wait for me!" She ran behind him, not wanting to be left behind. The cave air smelled moist and humid, while the surrounding stalactite constructions of nature shined with a watery polish. The cave winded on in a linear fashion for several minutes, before taking several sharp turns and traveling downwards in a rocky slope. The wailing grew loud and soft in successive turns. At the last nearby turn, the wailing grow louder than before.

Kai looked around. The light from the entrance above had been left several minutes behind, giving way to a dark atmosphere. Ingrid shivered, standing very close to the teen boy. He reached into his pocket, taking out Growlithe's pokéball and tossing it to the ground. The capsule opened, releasing the fire type. Immediately aware of the situation, the pokémon lit a fire inside its mouth, creating a bright light.

"Cool, I mean hot!" Ingrid remarked, warming her hands near the fire type's flame as they continued their trek. The two teens continued walking towards the source of the wail. Suddenly, they heard a shriek from above. Several zubat flew downwards, then flew off into the darkness. Ingrid screamed, panting heavily and falling backwards.

Kai grabbed her hand, helping her up. "Are you ok?"

"Y-yeah, let's get o-out of here," she stuttered.

"Why are you so afraid?"

"It's really nothing."

"I want to know what's so scary about this tunnel," Kai requested, crossing his arms. "It's _something._ "

Ingrid looked down, her palms shaking again. She put her hands on her head.

Kai sighed, then sat down. "Look, you need help, and I need a badge. What's the problem?"

"Jerk," she said, punching his arm. "Just because I dress like a boy doesn't mean I am one. Treat me like a lady."

"Ow!"

"About 10 years ago, I got caved into the well during a storm. I got stuck inside the darkness, and I could hear scary creatures everywhere. I thought I was going to be stuck inside forever."

"How did you get out?" Kai asked, his eyebrows raised.

"Bugsy was the one you rescued me."

"Bugsy?"

Ingrid gazed quietly into space. "He came down like an angel from above, and pulled me into the light. I'll never forget that moment."

Kai sighed, then turned back to her. "Well?"

"Well what?" Ingrid replied.

"Well, when I was a kid, some of the kids in New Bark dared me to go inside a deep construction tunnel outside of town, even though it was a no entry area."

"And you went?"

"Hey, they called me chicken!" Kai retorted, making Ingrid giggle.

"We got about halfway through the tunnel when a usaring came at our group. They all scrambled, and left me behind like I thought they would, and I had to hide in a foxhole until my pops could find me. It felt like a day, but I was only there for an hour."

"Why would you tell me this?"

Kai shrugged. "I thought you could use the extra story."

"Idiot," she said quietly, sniffling.

They were interrupted by slow splashing sound and close wail coming from nearby. The wail went behind a rock formation. The two trainers followed the noise.

At that moment, a pink creature with wide white eyes splashed past them, wailing as it crawled by.

"So it was the cry of a slowpoke," Kai deduced. He ran ahead of the creature, stopping it in its tracks after fast walking ahead of the sluggish creature for several minutes. The creature stared with curious eyes, throwing Kai and Ingrid off their guard.

"What do we do now?" Ingrid asked.

Kai reached into his pocket, taking out another pokéball. "Growlithe, let's get a new team member."

"You want to _catch_ the wailing slowpoke? I knew you were a few nuts short of a magneton."

"Tackle attack, Growlithe!" The fire type charged towards the standing slowpoke, and immediately made contact. The pokémon skidded backwards, then opened its mouth, releasing a flurry of water towards Growlithe. Using its speed and high ground, the fire type dodged the attack, then charged at slowpoke, hitting the confused pokémon once more.

The pokémon wailed, this time emitting a visible glow, noticeable to both Kai and Ingrid. Suddenly, an unseen force flew towards Growlithe and the two teens, knocking them all backwards slightly. Growlithe shot back up immediately, as did the two trainers.

"That's a powerful psychic attack," Ingrid remarked.

"Confusion," Kai added. "Definitely a confusion attack. Don't ask me how I know that."

"I wasn't going to ask," Ingrid muttered, rolling her eyes.

"Growlithe, knock it out! It looks tired!" Growlithe dashed towards the water type and rammed into it, knocking the pokémon backwards. The pokémon tumbled down lower down the rocky slope of the well. Kai and Ingrid rushed to join Growlithe, only to find that slowpoke had only rolled several feet below the slope's blind spot. The pink pokémon laid unconscious, but the wailing in the distance did not seize.

"Wait, so that wasn't _this_ slowpoke?" Kai asked.

"How do you even guess it's a slowpoke?" Ingrid questioned. Kai shrugged, throwing a pokéball towards the unconscious pokémon while walking down the slope.

On the way down, Ingrid noticed something. She pointed towards the entrance of a cave right behind slowpoke as Kai's newly occupied pokéball pinged with success. The echoing of the wailing seemed to be coming from inside the slightly darker area within the cave.

Growlithe between them, the two trainers walked into the dark cave, the soft glow of the fire type's flames illuminating the cavern. The wailing became louder and louder, going on sporadically, until it came to a stop.

Kai, with Ingrid and Growlithe close by him, squinted his eyes. As his eyes adjusted to the new darkness, he could make out a silhouette, one not shaped like that of a human's.

"Who's there?" Kai yelled, his mouth getting covered up immediately by Ingrid.

"Be quiet!" She hissed. "We don't even know what that thing is."

"I am a resident of this tunnel. Call me slowking."

"Did you hear that?" Kai asked Ingrid.

"Yes, that was me, human. Come, I will do you no harm." After that, the creature wailed more, then stopped, grunting slightly. "It is getting hard to control myself."

"Are you okay?" Kai asked. "And why does it sound like you are talking but you aren't?"

"Yeah I feel weird every time you speak. It's like you're talking directly into me," Ingrid added.

"I am using my psychic abilities to speak directly to your brain in waves."

Kai nodded, his eyes wide as he approached the silhouette. _It's just like the unown at the Ruins of Alph,_ he thought.

Stepping closer, he saw what appeared to be the face of a slowpoke standing on two feet, a shell garnishing the top of its head like a crown.

"So you're the one I'm guessing has been making all the racket," Ingrid deduced.

The slowking nodded,walking slowly arms towards them with arms behind its back. The pokémon emitted a visible force, one that both Kai and Ingrid could feel vibrating around them. "Yes," the pokémon replied.

"Why are you crying so much?" Kai questioned.

"It's the only way to alleviate the pain I am feeling."

"Pain."

"A recent disturbance in nature has been making my brain waves uncontrollable."

"I don't think there's anything more disturbing than what you're doing," Kai noted, getting hit on the head by Ingrid. "Ow! What?"

"Stop being so blunt! Grow some manners!"

Growlithe smirked, following by two barks at Kai, receiving a glare from its master.

"I haven't felt like this in close to 15 years," Slowking said, groaning. "Please go."

"15 years," Kai said to himself, his thoughts on what Liam had said and a chill went down his spine. _That was when Kenneth Walker and Team Rocket-_

"Kai, are you okay?" Ingrid asked, snapping her fingers in the teen boy's face.

Kai gasped, looking up with sweat covering his face. "Yeah, just a cold sweat. Can we do anything to help you?"

"I need to unleash all my energy in some way," Slowking explained.

"How about a battle?"

"You can't be serious, Kai! What Slowking needs is m-medical treatment, not a battle!"

"No, a battle would indeed aid in unleashing my energy. Please come at me what your best."

"That'll be easy," Kai said, reaching into his pocket for his other pokéball. "Take a break, Growlithe. I'm going to use Gastly." The trainer tossed his new pokéball towards the growl, releasing the ghost type into the air.

The pokémon immediately charged towards Slowking. The psychic pokémon groaned, followed by a rumbling of the surrounding area. Suddenly, a wave of energy knocked Gastly backwards, rendering the ghost type immediately incapacitated.

"What in the world?" Kai said, scratching his head.

"Idiot, Gastly is part poison type."

"So?"

Ingrid shook her head. "I-I'll give it a go. Go Ledian!" The girl threw her pokéball to the ground next to Growlithe. In a flash of light, the object released a slim ladybug-like pokémon with distinct blue eyes and four arms. The pokémon hovered next to Growlithe, waiting for orders. Ingrid stood next to Kai, her feet shaking and her face covered in sweat.

"Anytime you're ready to attack," Kai said, crossing his arms.

"L-Ledian, no wait...I...no I can't..."

"What's wrong with you?"

"It's nothing!"

"Please hurry," Slowking pleaded, its aura growing stronger once more.

"Growlithe, use your strongest flame wheel attack!" Growlithe nodded, standing its ground and releasing a large circle of fire at slowking. The attack collided with the psychic type, momentarily struggling to push into the pokémon. Slowking grunted, the next wave of psychic energy steadily overpowering the flame wheel. "Harder, Growlithe!" Growlithe pushed forward, putting all of its energy into the attack. At that moment, Slowking's psychic energy pushed through the flame wheel, visibly flying towards the fire type. Kai jumped in the way, taking the brunt of the force and flying towards the floor.

"Kai!" Ingrid yelled, rushing over with Growlithe to check on the boy.

Kai groaned, slowly getting up. "I'm going to be sore in the morning."

"It's working, please push," Slowking begged.

"Why would you do that?" Ingrid asked him angrily. "You could have been hurt."

"Growlithe could've been too."

"But-"

"Look, it's whatever. I just did what a friend would do for a friend, but I'm not done yet! Growlithe use your strongest attack again!" Growlithe barked, firing another wave of flames at Slowking.

The collision and imminent psychic attack knocked Kai and Growlithe back once more, this time the fire type taking the brunt of the force. Despite their exhaustion, the two of them continued attacking as Ingrid stared on.

 _How can they keep fighting like that so stupidly? They're doing all the wrong things,_ she thought. _But they just keep fighting._

"This time _I'll_ charge!" Kai yelled, running towards Slowking with a fist. The psychic type absorbed the punch, knocking the boy backwards. He stood up again, breathing heavily. "I'm not done yet!"

"Stop it!" Ingrid shouted, clenching her fist. "I'm-I'm going to at least _try_! Ledian, set up a light screen and then use your comet punch!" The bug type swooped ahead at a rapid velocity and punched slowking repeatedly, the pink pokémon slowly getting knocked backwards.

Slowking wailed, its psychic power knocking Ledian backwards and shattering the light screen. Ledian recovered immediately, charging towards Slowking with another barrage of punches. Growlithe joined in, attacking Slowking with a flame wheel from the side.

The flurry of punches and intensity of the flames strengthened, prompting Slowking to push forward. "It seems as though I can unleash my full strength on your pokémon now. Are you ready?"

"I was born ready," Kai shouted impulsively.

Ingrid looked at him and smiled, then turned to glare at her target with focus. _If Kai is willing to take the chance, so am I!_ "I'm ready, Kai!"

"Go!" They ordered in unison.

* * *

With the final strike now imminent, who will emerge victorious? The tag team duo of Kai and Ingrid or the relentless psychic power of Slowking?

* * *

 **Authors Note [8/22/15]:**

One day late due to the extra length on the chapter and on my work schedule, but the dialogue and battling should be worth it! The next chapter will come out as intended this coming Friday.

R & R, and most importantly, _enjoy_.


	12. Echoes: Ilex Forest Part I

**Chapter 12: Echoes: Ilex Forest Part I**

"Go!"

Growlithe sprinted with haste towards Slowking, with Ledian in swift pursuit. The fire type made a head on collision with the psychic pokémon, the fires of its flame wheel attack absorbing heavy contact from the surrounding force. Ledian hovered behind the fire type, setting up a light screen barrier behind Growlithe.

"Light screen is ready to go!" Ingrid yelled. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes momentarily. From her peripheral vision, she could see Kai nodding at her. _We-we can do this,_ she thought, shoulders now squared but relaxed.

"I feel liberated!" Slowking bellowed into the minds of those surrounding it. "There will be no more holding back." The psychic type steadied its positioning on the rock holding it up, then turned both eyes directly towards the trainers and their pokémon. Suddenly, the strength of the aura began to increase, creating a struggle of positioning between Growlithe and Slowking. Ledian advanced into the fray, firing repeated punches, but the strength of the aura seemed to constantly increase.

"Steady!" Kai shouted, a sweat breaking down his forehead as the cool cavern seemed to heat up like a melting pot. _Slowking is unleashing its full strength, but-I don't know if we can absorb the attack._ Kai gritted his teeth and hit himself on the head repeatedly. _Think, darn it! We need to either absorb and attack or beat it head on!_

"W-we can't hold out much longer!" Ingrid warned.

"Just give me a moment!"

"We don't _have_ a moment if you don't mind!"

"Just trust me," Kai said firmly. Ingrid glared at him, then nodded quietly. "Everything you got, Growlithe. No holding back." Growlithe barked, then tightened its shoulders forward, pushing the flame wheel into the increasing aura.

"Ledian, punch the pink out of Slowking," Ingrid ordered. Ledian swooped in and began to attack the strangely elated Slowking with ferocious punches. For an instant, Slowking fell back, but the moment gave way to another hard push from Slowking.

"So much power!" Kai said, his eyes wide. _Just how much built up power does this thing have?_

"We're i-in trouble!" Ingrid said, looking down.

At that moment, a powerful force of green color passed by with speed quick enough to go unnoticed, slamming immediately into the Slowking and knocking the pokémon out with one swipe.

"A scyther?" Kai quickly guessed, staring down the swift pokémon's green coloration and blade-like arms.

"Bugsy's scyther," Ingrid added.

The two trainers turned around to the sound of a small applause and Bugsy standing before them.

"Ingrid, I think I've seen enough. You too, Kai."

"You mean we were being followed by you?" Kai asked in shock. "What's that all about?!"

"I only stepped in when I realized the situation was much stranger than even _I_ could have anticipated." Bugsy turned to Ingrid and stared at her. He removed her hat, revealing short ginger hair, then patted her on the head quietly.

Ingrid jumped back. "What?!"

Bugsy scoffed, then turned back. "I'm just-happy that you've realized your skill as a trainer."

"Is that all?"

"The gym is yours."

"Is that all?"

"Don't push it."

Bugsy then walked over to Kai, taking the badge from earlier and putting it in the trainer's palm.

Kai scratched his head. "But I lost. I didn't earn it fair and square."

"This has nothing to do with your raw but unpolished battling talent, Kai Wexler, son of Kyle Wexler."

"You know my pops?"

"You're the son of a champion?!" Ingrid questioned in surprise. "What an unfair handicap!"

"That's a rather stupid question, don't you think?" He then took a finger and pointed directly at Kai, a serious look on his face. "He helped me, so I'll pay him back for good. Listen Wexler, the road to the title is a long and hard one, and having the blood of a champion won't do you any favors against the world's elite. You still have a long way to go, and the road is about to get bumpier."

Kai nodded, taking a deep breath. He then clenched his fist. "I want it. I'll do whatever it takes."

Bugsy gazed at Kai, then let out a smirk. "It's going to take more than whatever."

* * *

With the mystery of the well's wailing resolved, Kai, Ingrid, and Bugsy made their way back to the now peaceful Azalea Town. With the discovery of the strange Slowking, new questions required new answers...

* * *

Kai laid in his lower bunk while Jane paced around quietly with her fingers curled around her mouth.

"We can't make any assumptions," Jane muttered. "Even if they are related to each other, how can we be sure?"

"I really don't know," Kai said, sighing. "For now, Slowking has been asleep due to all that battling."

"This is definitely something that we can't be sure about," Jane said, still pacing.

Kai looked down. "I don't why I don't feel good talking about anything from 15 years ago."

Jane sat down next to him, staring at him. "Who does? Team Rocket isn't exactly a tea party. Come to think of it-" she stared at Kai more closely as he got up, eyebrows raised.

"What?"

"You've been acting off ever since you came back from the well."

"What do you mean?"

"Did something happen down there?" she asked, her eyes focused on Kai.

 _What's her deal,_ he thought anxiously. "I-"

Suddenly, the door to the lodge room slammed open and Roy stepped in. He stood silently at the door, glaring at both Kai and Jane with crossed arms. "Can you guys get a room? Another room?"

Flustered, she sprang up. "Shut up, goon!"

"Don't you start calling me that too!"

Jane rolled her eyes, heading towards the door. "Idiot. You probably said something stupid to Ingrid, didn't you?"

Kai nodded without a second thought. She passed one glance towards the room's door before walking away.

"What's up with that?" Kai asked in confusion.

"That's what I want to know," Roy added. He then slapped Kai on the back.

"Ow! Hey!"

"You know, I keep wondering something about you," Roy began, "actually, about all of us."

"What do you mean?" Kai asked, now curious.

Roy grunted, pulling himself up into the top bunk and lying down. "Not too long ago, we were enemies. To be honest, I still have a score to settle with you. Don't you think it's weird how the 5 of us have met up in such a short time?"

Kai laid on his back, his eyes fixed on the bunk bed above his own. "What do you mean?"

"How much do you really believe in all of this destiny thing?"

"I didn't really, until I saw the unown and Jane go through her trial with Entei."

"Still, something is really convenient about all this."

"I don't know why," Kai started, "but I actually believe you. For once, I think your goon skills might be paying off."

"Funny guy," Roy said, coupling his words with a sarcastic chuckle. "Seriously though, let's keep our eyes open."

"Right."

* * *

Morning came, with new intent for Kai and his companions as they prepared to set out for Ilex Forest, the bridge between Azalea Town and Goldenrod City...

* * *

"Everything set for you guys?" Ingrid questioned, taking a look at the backpacks and satchels in the group. "Hope you all enjoy my grandma's cooking!"

"We will," Aster said with a huge smile on her face.

"Once you go into the forest, you need to make sure not to get lost," Bugsy warned. "It will take at least a day of walking to navigate Ilex forest."

"Don't worry, I'm an expert," Alexis said triumphantly.

"I thought you were still in school," Aster retorted curiously, making the others chuckle.

"Yeah," the ranger-in-training replied, dejected.

The group turned and began walking towards the narrow dirt path leading towards the entrance building, Bugsy and Ingrid waving behind him.

"If you get lost, follow the light of the shrine!" Bugsy yelled to them.

"Be careful, Kai!" Ingrid yelled. "And thank you!"

Kai stretched his hand up without looking back, his gaze now focused on the road ahead.

"You must have done something _really stupid_ ," Jane joked, making Alexis giggle.

"Give me some credit," Kai responded with a groan.

* * *

Miles of forest ahead, Kai and his friends continued their journey through the maze of trees, following the dirt road before them. With no sign having come in hours and no way of knowing how far Goldenrod City was, Kai and his friends set up came as the sun began to set on the already veiled landscape...

* * *

"We should have enough spare water and goods to go about making a zesty meal," Roy assured, sifting through an assortment of items he had laid out around him.

"Where did you even learn to cook?" Aster asked, skimming over the items with interest.

"Picked it up over my years of traveling," Roy answered with pride etched into his words. "Where's Kai?"

"Here I am," Kai responded loudly as he wandered into the open and flat camping ground with bundles of sticks in his hands. He tossed the sticks next to the thief and dusted himself off. "I think that should do."

"I'll be the judge of that," Roy replied, a grin on his face.

"I'll be the judge of that," Kai mocked with his back turned.

"Heard that."

"I know."

"Why you-"

"Could you guys keep it down?" Alexis shouted angrily, silencing the two. "Me and Jane are trying to figure out our location."

"We've been following the path, so chill," Roy said with aloofness.

"Got it," Jane said quickly with complete disregard for Roy's words. Her fingers maneuvered around her pokégear device. "We're not that far off, but it's still an hour walk."

"And the sun's setting," Kai added, covering his face as a breeze of chilly wind passed by. He shivered, grabbing his hoodie and slipping it on. "Maybe check the weather instead."

The rustling of leaves grew louder, but the adventurers shrugged it off.

As Kai paced around the campsite quietly, he heard a buzzing noise coming from close by. He took out his pokéball and released his Growlithe.

"What's up?" Roy asked.

"Do you hear that?" Kai whispered loudly. The girls continued overlooking the map while Kai and Roy moved towards the noise. Suddenly, a loud noise came from above, attracting the attention of all the adventurers. Lowering to the ground was a dark blue-pokémon with an horn in the middle. The pokémon stood on two feet, and had two large eyes fixated beneath two circular antennas next to its middle horn.

"A heracross!" Roy yelled. "So rare!"

"Dibs!" Aster shouted.

"You don't have a pokémon, Aster!" Kai berated.

"I did it for you," Aster said with a pout on her face.

"You can't dib for someone else," Roy mocked.

"Dibs!"

"Darn it, Kai!"

"Idiots," Jane said with a sigh.

"Sort of," Alexis said with a grin.

As they argued, the heracross skipped off into the forest. Spontaneously, Kai and Aster chased after the pokémon, leaving their friends behind.

"Where are you guys going?!" Alexis yelled. "We have to stay on the path."

"Like I said, chill," Roy advised, a smirk on his face. "It's Kai. They won't do anything reckless."

Jane rolled her eyes. _It's like we know two different_ people.

* * *

Kai sprinted after the heracross, watching his back continuously to see if Aster ran close by him. "Why...did...you...come," he panted.

"I...call...dibs!" Aster said in a huff. "Someone has...make sure...wander far... _big bro_!"

The heracross buzzed loudly as it navigated the trees with ease, while Kai and Aster struggled to avoid the trees and shrubbery around them. The wind rustled loudly around Kai. Growlithe seemed to run as if one with nature, keeping close competition with heracross. Kai pushed himself as hard as he could, now running side by side with Growlithe and only inches away from the hovering heracross.

 _If we can just get a little closer, one of us can attack,_ Kai thought, breathing heavily as the wind rushed around him sharply. At that instant, Kai felt as though he had lost all use of his senses.

"Kai!" Aster yelled.

Kai continued to run ahead as Aster's voice fell behind him. _What's wrong with me?_ He looked around his body, but it was as if he was out of his shell, overlooking himself and Growlithe. Then, he came to a stop, the heracross nowhere in sight. He wheezed, finding it hard to catch his breath, and felt as though his stomach had become one tight knot as he fell to the floor. Growlithe barked, turning to him and looking at him. As Kai made eye contact with his pokémon, a whisper passed his ear.

"Kai..."

In a state of shock, Kai laid silently on a tree stump. He only came to his full senses when a raindrop touched his nose, followed by a heavy downpour. Rushing to the comfort of a large tree with his Growlithe, Kai looked around frantically. His heart felt as though it would come out of his chest at any moment.

"Kai..."

This time he heard the whisper calling his name as though the voice were nearby. He glanced around, but the downpour made it difficult to see anything beyond the trees-save for one light.

"Kai..."

 _The shrine,_ he thought, standing up and walking towards the light. "We can find our way back using the shrine." _Is that where it's coming from?_

Growlithe barked, then fell into order beside him.

* * *

"Kai!" Aster shouted. She sat quietly under a large dry tree, trying to shield herself from the cold. "Honestly, what was he thinking?"

"Aster..."

The girl jumped up, a sharp chill running down her spine. A warmth passed through her ears, as if someone had spoken directly into them. She shuffled her eyes around, but saw nothing with trees covered by foggy and pouring rain.

"Aster..."

This time the voice came from farther out. Aster turned to the source of the noise and saw a light. She let out a sigh of relief. "The shrine that Bugsy was talking about! He probably went there!"

"Aster..."

Aster rushed towards the light quickly. _Please be there, big bro!_

* * *

 **Author's Note [8/29/15]:**

For ease, I'm planning on moving the release of every chapter to Saturdays. Of course, aside from the one day delay last week, this probably feels like the usual wait to everyone.

I'd like to take this time to thank Darth Kokkinos, Pokestets23, and Airenee for frequenting my story and showing their support consistently. All of them have fantastic stories on their pages, and they most definitely don't need the support of a small author like me to be good.

Do you want to chat and have fun with other hard working authors? Come to Arcadian Sands, Darth Kokkinos's community!

Do you write OC stories for pokémon like me? Share your work with Airenee! She has a community that provides much-needed recognition to OC story writers!

R & R, and most importantly, _enjoy_.


	13. Revelations: Ilex Forest Part II

**Chapter 13: Revelations: Ilex Forest Part II**

As Kai and his friends journeyed through Ilex Forest, the lure of a heracross separated the teen boy and Aster from the rest of the group. With nothing but fog and rain in their sights, the two adventurers follow the illumination of the shrine-or is it really?

* * *

"It's pouring down really hard, you know," Jane yelled over the sound of heavy rain. Alexis and Roy simply nodded, their focus on gathering the utensils around their campsite and tossing them quickly into the group's tent. "Hello, what about Kai and Aster?!"

Roy turned and went over to Jane. His shoulders and legs stiffened as he averted his eyes from here. Jane and Alexis both took notice to his unusually serious demeanor. He then smirked, to which Jane and Alexis let out a sigh. "Let's go find them."

"I get that, but where do we even start?" Jane asked, her arms crossed. "We can't see anything ahead of us for miles except for trees and some pokémon."

They thought quietly for a moment. Alexis moved her attention towards her surroundings. _Alright Alexis think. There's no better time to put those ranger skills to the test._ She walked around to where Kai and Aster had disappeared into the trees and knelt on the ground, inspecting the soil with her fingers. Shaking her head, she turned to Roy and Jane. "Any sign of their movement has pretty much washed away thanks to the rain."

Roy groaned. "Aw man! What a bummer!" He took several steps back while complaining, losing his balance as he slipped over mud. The thief rattled into a tree behind him, and a flock of screeching blue creatures came flying out, several of them landing on the campground.

"Zubat? Here?" Jane remarked.

"Well beggars can't be choosers when those little guys are just looking for dark areas," Alexis noted, to which Jane nodded.

Suddenly Roy snapped his fingers, then rushed over to Alexis and grabbed her by the shoulders. "You have that capture smiler thing, don't you?"

"If I say yes, will you let me teach you to pronounce the name right?" Alexis retorted.

"Probably not, but see those flocks of zubat? They can see without eyes using their supersonic senses like regular bats can."

"But they'll need a scent of one or the other," Alexis noted, eyeballing her surroundings for a possession of Kai or Aster's.

Roy pointed at Kai's bag with a grin. Alexis cheered happily, while Jane smiled.

"You know a lot more than I would have thought about supersonic senses. How so?" Jane questioned.

"Maybe I'll tell you guys when I'm ready," Roy said with a chuckle, before walking over to Alexis and whispering into her ear while gesturing at the zubat flock.

 _I hope you know what you're doing Kai,_ Jane thought, adjusting her spectacles while raising her head towards the sky. _Either way, we're coming to help your sorry idiot behind._

* * *

"Kai..."

"Who's there?" Kai yelled, trudging through the moistened soil and greenery around him as rain continued pouring around him. He continued rushing towards the light coming from the shrine, but the distance did not seem to shorten in any way. Growlithe stepped alongside him, sniffing the soil around the area. "What the heck is going on?!"

The teen sprinted forwards, Growlithe behind him, hoping to the cut the distance ahead of him. Suddenly, he heard the voice again, but this time it seemed warm and familiar.

"Please save...Kai..."

He stopped in his tracks, trying to make out what sounded like a woman's voice, but the flash and imminent sound of thunder cut his hearing off. Then, out of his peripheral vision, he saw a shadow, but it was much smaller than that of a human's. Turning his head immediately, he rushed towards the shadow's direction.

"Save...my...Kai..."

Kai stopped, falling over with the same knot in his stomach, coughing and huffing. His vision became blurry and fuzzy, and his hearing became lowered-pitched.

The sound of the familiar female voice dragged his vision upwards from the ground, but this time his eyes widened-a woman stood in the clearing. She held something in her hand.

"Hey!" Kai screamed, but his words seemed to echo around the body. He attempted to see what she was carrying in her hand. He waved his arm around the female, but she paid no attention to his gestures. When he looked closely at the bundle in her arms, his eyes widened and he felt sick. The baby had brown eyes and looked much him, but he seemed weak and fragile. _No, it can't be her. She's..._

Kai then looked at his mother's eyes. Tears fell down her cheeks, and she could barely open her eyes as she fell to a bowing position. "Please save him, Celebi!" she screamed in agony.

Suddenly, Kai felt the same presence he had felt earlier. This time, not far from the woman, the same shadow hovered in the clearing. A flash of lightning revealed the creature's form: a peachy skin with two wings and a humanoid-like body. Kai squinted his eyes, in shock at what he was seeing. " _The_ Mew? But it looks nothing like..."

"Please save my Kai from his weakness," the woman said shakily, her voice more audible. "I've heard from the townspeople you create miracles. Prove your power and save my only son!"

"My dear," the voice-as if speaking to Kai's mind-started, "While I can assure you I can heal your offspring, you must know that one must heed the consequences of their actions. To give something, one must give up something."

"What is he talking about?" Kai shouted, but the woman and the creature continued to speak.

"I'll give you anything," the woman begged, "Just make sure my son will live!"

"Anything?" the voice asked, harboring layered intent.

Kai felt uneasy as he watched on. He shook his head. "Don't do it. He's lying," he said spontaneously, shivering as he did.

* * *

"Kai!" Aster yelled, shivering as she walked. "Big bro!"

"Aster..."

From the corner of her eye, she saw two shadowy figures shaped in a human-like form walking towards the side of the shrine's light. Shaken by the encounter, Aster attempted to break away and sprint towards the shrine's light, but she fell to the ground, her vision and hearing growing distant. The ordeal terrified Aster, and she could keep her composure no more.

"Stop!" Aster screamed, tears forming in her eyes as she covered her ears. _Kai_ _, help...someone!_

"What brings you to my shrine?" a voice said, as if speaking to Aster's mind.

Aster shot up, shouting, "I need to find Kai-"

"Please keep my baby away from the harm of Team Rocket and that-that monster!" The two shadowy figures from earlier held the appearance of an adult woman and an adult male. Aster's eyes widened when she saw that a third figure hovered above them. A flash of lightning shot by, revealing the pink skin and wings of the creature, but strangely keeping the humanoid figures dark.

"I can protect your child from harm, but in order to gain something, one must face the consequences of their actions."

"What is it you want from us?" the male voice begged.

"You must give something of yours in order to get something."

"We'll give you anything to protect Aster!" the woman pleaded.

"But-I'm okay!" Aster said, sobbing. "Don't!"

"Anything?" the voice hissed, sending a chill down Aster's back.

* * *

"I will grant your wish," the voice said to the woman holding her baby.

"No! What are you taking from her?!"

A clap of lightning passed by, following by the glowing of the creature known as Celebi. Suddenly, the silent and still child began crying. The woman sobbed uncontrollably as she held Kai in her arms.

"Tess!" Kai heard a familiar voice yell from behind him. He felt himself be pushed over to the side as he heard his father's voice.

"Pops? But what are you-"

"Tess, I told you not to go!" Kyle berated.

"But that means she really is my-" Kai coughed, his stomach tightening. He forced himself up, leaning against a tree. _No, I have to see this. I have to._

"But can you handle...truth..." the voice from earlier hissed.

At that moment, Tess fell over, Kyle taking the baby in his hands.

"Tess, Tess what's wrong?" Kyle shouted. "Tess!"

"I...feel...weak," she said quietly.

Kyle held on to her and the baby and knelt on the ground. "Listen, you're going to be okay. You, me, the kid."

Tess smiled, a tear in her eye. "You're not...good liar."

"What do you do to her?!" Kyle roared at the sky.

"She said she would give anything to save your son's life, so she did..."

"What are you talking about?! Come out here!"

"Her life...for his..."

Kai gasped, running away from the scene. He tripped, falling on to his knees and coughing and spitting over the ground.

* * *

"In exchange for your daughter's safety, you must leave her life forever."

The woman began to sob, while the man clenched his fist angrily. "You can't be serious!"

"Should you ever interfere in your daughter's life again, the exchange will be null and void."

"But-"

"You said you would give _anything_. This is my desire."

Aster covered her eyes and turned her head away from the noise, but she kept her ears open. She quickly shot back around. The three figures were gone, and she remained alone once more. Her eyes widened when she realized the light of the shrine shined directly in front of her. _How did I get here,_ she thought.

She heard a loud coughing and breathing coming from nearby. As she walked near the clearing by the shrine, she saw Kai, leaning against the ground.

"Kai!"

* * *

Kai's eyes shot up as Aster grabbed on to him, bringing him into a tight embrace. His heart slowed a step down, and his breathing went back to normal. Growlithe joined the embrace, rubbing itself around the two adventurers. "Aster, is that you?"

"Yeah, doduo brain," Aster replied quietly, before pulling away slowly.

Then, she slapped him across the face. The teen boy grabbed his cheek. "Ow!" he exclaimed. "What's that all about?!"

"For leaving me behind," Aster yelled. She took a sigh and stared at Kai, focused on cooling down his cheek. The girl let out a giggle at his state. "You really are an _idiot_ sometimes, big bro."

"Are you still calling me that?"

"Idiot."

"What a lovely reunion," a familiar voice muttered loud enough for Kai and Aster to hear over the rain. "Too bad we're going to have to cut it short."

Growlithe barked in the direction of the voices, followed by snarling. Kai and Aster moved their eyes around, catching the sight of two black uniforms with the letter "R" embedded on the chest of the costumes.

"You guys," Kai said, clenching his fist. He immediately recognized the male by his raven black hair and black eyes, each highlighting his deadpan expression. The blonde haired woman stepped forth, her blue eyes sporting a malicious expression, a face Kai had not particularly paid heed to during their last encounter.

"The Yin Yang guys-"

"Shut up, runt," Yang spat.

"There's no need for you to get involved, Yang," Yin said to his partner, before shifting his eyes back to Kai. "I've been keeping score."

"Yeah?"

"You truly are the former champion's son, Kai Wexler."

"How did you-"

"Well it matters not. You're half the battler Kyle was."

"What are you getting at?" Kai asked.

"That your last win was a fluke, and I'll prove it right here and now."

"Hey," Yang yelled, moving a step forward, "But I want to have my own taste of the action-"

She shivered and stepped back when Yin turned to her, his calm demeanor giving way to piercing black eyes and a rather vicious intent. "I've been keeping score. I'll be using my seadra and dugtrio. You can use whichever two pokémon you want."

Yin reached into his pocket and threw a pokéball towards the clearing in front of him, releasing a blue creature with sharp scales and a large snout. The pokémon had piercing eyes that complemented its master's deadpan expression.

"He hardly ever uses his seadra," Yang said, eyes wide. _He must really hate this kid._

"Fine," Kai said, reaching into his pocket. "Gastly, do your best." Kai threw his own capsule towards the ground, releasing his ghost type.

"Interesting choice," Yin remarked. "Water gun attack, Seadra." The water type shot a jet of water from its mouth with ferocity. The attack shot forward at a rapid velocity, the ghost type barely evading the attack. The attack rammed into the bark of a tree, cracking it.

"Gastly, use-" Kai suddenly felt a cold sweat go down his spine as he saw Seadra prepare for another water gun. Gastly watched him, confused.

Kai could only stare in shock as Gastly flew backwards and slammed into the ground. The pokémon struggled to levitate back up.

"Maybe it was just a fluke," Yin said with a chuckle. "You were never good to begin with. Seadra, finish it."

"Hypnosis!" the ghost type's eyes shot up, shooting visible waves of energy at Seadra. The water type avoided the attack, then fired a quick jet of water at Gastly, incapacitating the pokémon.

"If that was your only surprise, then you're half the man Kyle Wexler was," Yin said with a smirk.

 _Darn it, focus!_ Kai shook his head and slapping his face. _It wasn't my fault...I need to focus,_ he thought. He grabbed his head, unable to compose himself.

"Water gun attack, Seadra!" Yin ordered. The scaly water-type shot a powerful jet towards Kai.

"Look out, Kai!" Aster yelled.

At that moment, Growlithe jumped in front of its indecisive trainer, absorbing the attack and colliding with the tree behind. The fire type laid on the ground, incapacitated as well.

"Growlithe!" Kai yelled. He then angrily turned back to the Rocket duo. "What are you doing that for?!"

"If you won't pay attention to our battle, then I'll make sure you do," Yin responded. "Attack the girl, Seadra."

Aster stepped backwards, tripping over her shaking feet as the water type took aim and fired another powerful jet. She closed her eyes, unable to move. "Kai!"

She felt herself being knocked backwards into the tree behind her, but not as hard as she had thought. Opening her eyes, she noticed Kai in front of her, left arm out and right arm by his side. She wrapped her arms around his shoulder, but immediately took it back when he winced in pain.

"Well, what do we have here?" Yang taunted.

"Kai, _no,_ " Aster pleaded, tears rolling down her eyes.

Kai coughed and hacked, trying to put his reach out in front of the girl. His vision blurred as another series of jet streams slammed into his body. He gritted his teeth, trying not to clench his right arm.

"Fight me!" Yin roared, his yell unsettling even for Yang. "Well we'll just finish this and take your keys!"

"Hey! How about keeping things fair?!"

Yin and Yang turned around, coming face to face with Roy, Alexis, and Jane. Roy stood center, his sharp green eyes biting through the Team Rocket duo. Alexis and Jane circled around, surrounding the two agents.

Kai scoffed weakly. "About time," he remarked, before falling backwards onto Aster's lap.

"Kai!" Aster yelled, grabbing the teen boy.

"Well, if it isn't Roy," Yin said, his usual deadpan smirk on his face. "We'll have to do something about this whole ordeal."

"I agree," Yang added, a pokéball now in her hand.

* * *

What comes next for Kai and his friends as they stand face to face with the malicious Team Rocket duo of Yin and Yang? Can the team of Roy, Alexis, and Jane stand the test of Yin and Yang? Or does the mastermind have something else in mind?

* * *

 **Author's Note [9/7/2015]:**

There you have it. Chapter 13 brings with it many revelations that will have to sink in for the audience. Many of them will be detailed more in future chapters, but I'm hoping this chapter was truly worth the wait.

Big shoutout to Airenee and Kokkinos for their continued support. If you're looking for a fanfiction that is many times greater than mine in all facets, Airenee is the way to go. If you're looking for a Star Wars story to spice up that Force Friday, check out Kokkinos! He absolutely rocks!

Do you want to chat and have fun with other hard working authors? Come to Arcadian Sands, Darth Kokkinos's community!

R & R, and most importantly, _enjoy_.


	14. Journey Arc Epilogue

**Chapter 14: Journey Arc Epilogue**

* * *

"Unfortunately, I have no interest in taking on all of you at once," Yin stated. He pressed his arm on Yang's with authority. The female rocket dropping her pokémon begrudgingly, but could not muster the breath to speak.

The rain continued to pour down, gathering and falling in large increments from the trees.

"What are you, afraid?" Roy mocked. "I-" Jane grabbed Roy by the shoulder, her eyes nudging towards Kai. Roy gritted his teeth, unable to bring himself to look at Aster crying over a weak and defeated Kai.

Yin and Yang silently returned their pokémon, but not before stopping in front of the thief and his companions.

Yin chuckled as Roy squared face to face with him, his green eyes piercing through the Rocket. "Only the kind of eyes I would expect from one of your clan."

"What would _you_ know about my clan?" Roy questioned quietly, his rage simmering as he clenched his fist.

"More than you'd think, Roy _Blackthorn_." Roy eyes widened, but he maintained his composure as Yin and Yang took their leave. The male Rocket stopped once more, his finger pointed at Kai. "Don't forget to take out the trash."

"Why you!" Alexis yelled, an equally angry Jane and Roy restraining the ranger as Yin and Yang disappeared into the trees.

The three rushed to Aster, who sobbed uncontrollably on Kai, who laid on the ground with his eyes open.

"Kai, are you-" Roy stopped in his tracks when he looked at Kai's expression, an emotionless grey. "We need to get him to Azalea Town right away. Let's go, Kai!" The other's helped Kai to his feet. Alexis grabbed Kai's pokéballs, returning his incapacitated pokémon and placing his capsules back in his bag.

"I'm fine, really," Kai said, using his good arm to let go and continue his walk. "Which way, Alexis?"

"You are not okay, idiot," Jane berated. "You need our help and-"

Kai turned to his friends, and the look on his face shocked them all to the core.

He smiled, then continued to walk.

* * *

 **End Arc 1: Journey Arc**

* * *

And so came the end to a nightmare chapter in the story of Kai Wexler. Kai Wexler began his journey as any normal person would, only to have the energetic Aster Violet enter his life and turn his life into an unusual adventure. Along the way, Kai and Aster met the traveling thief Roy, the scientific prodigy Jane, and the ranger-in-training Alexis. The five trainers-though having agendas of their own-accepted their destinies, the four remaining trainers hoping to connect with their legendary masters, the gods of the pokémon World. Their mysterious and intertwined destinies attracted the unwanted attention of Roy's mystery employer and the dangerous eye of Rocket field agents Yin and Yang. After a series of confrontations in Violet City, the Ruins of Alph, and Azalea Town, Kai and Aster's past and present both unraveled in the depths of Ilex Forest. A final confrontation with Yin and Yang marked the end of an unusual journey, and the beginning of a journey filled with adversities and dangers, the likes of which had never been seen before in the Pokémon World.

With the eye of Team Rocket now fixated directly on Kai, Aster, Roy, Jane, and Alexis, what comes next? Who is the mysterious employer of Roy that seeks the power of the keys? Can Kai and Co. truly come to terms with their unusual destinies? What obstacles await to test the power of Kai and Aster's friendship...and will they be ready for what is to come in Goldenrod City and beyond?

 **Arc 2: Goldenrod Arc Coming Next!**

* * *

 **Author's Note [9/20/15]:**

And after 2 weeks, here is the short epilogue and recap of the first 13 chapters!

I'd like to thank Airenee for giving me the idea of presenting a recap. She is by far a much better writer than myself and I would highly recommend you go check her work out first!

I'd also like to thank Stets and Kokkinos for exercising the patience to read my story. The three of you are great people.

I look forward to continuing this story!

R & R, and most importantly, _enjoy_.


	15. Catalyst

**Arc 2: Goldenrod Arc**

* * *

For every shadowy abyss, there is a brilliant light waiting to shine. Yet it was truly the brightest corridor of Ilex Forest that harbored the deepest and darkest memories of our heroes. Now the fragile yet elegant balance hung on the edge, ready to follow five into the light-or into the darkness at any moment. So would a catalyst come, one that would transcend the bond that transcends blood itself: that of a human and Pokémon.

* * *

 **Chapter 15: Catalyst**

Yang walked close behind Yin, the male agent of Team Rocket looking poised. Irrespective of her typical demeanor, her arms and legs stiff.

"Don't say a word," Yin quietly ordered, a command to which Yang nodded without argument. "He doesn't like interruptions."

As the duo approached a clearing in the woods, the orange rays of the setting sun illuminated the ground. A small wooden shed stood alone in the clearing-the duo's safe house. One of the two emotionless grunts standing by the door pulled the door open, revealing a blackness with only one light coming from a computer screen.

Yin nodded to the grunt, the grunt responding affirmatively. "Come on," he said. Yang followed him, shutting the door behind them.

The computer screen had an audio screen, but no video. The creaking of the shutting door was immediately followed by a cold, layered, and deep voice.

"Make yourself comfortable."

"Yes, commander," Yin responded, gesturing his hand to Yang. The two of them sat down on an aged sofa, one that preceded even their run as Rocket agents.

"I am most pleased with the progression of my plan, Yin."

"Yes, commander."

"Four of the key wielders have converged and are actively seeking to understand their roles."

Yang shot up. "There are five-" Yin immediately grabbed her shoulder sharply, shooting her a piercing look.

The audio stopped momentarily, and the room fell silent. Suddenly, the feed said, "There is no need to treat such a beautiful young lady in this manner."

Yang's eyes lit up when she realized the video feed on the computer was off. _How can he see?_

"Dear, I have eyes everywhere," the commander said, as if directly reading her mind. "If you have backed off, then you must know the truth, but I will clear up your partner's misconceptions."

"Misconceptions, commander?"

"Kai Wexler is more than just key wielder. In fact, he doesn't fit in the category of key wielders."

"For now, you two will step out of the way as they cross Goldenrod City. Let them do the dirty work for us."

Yang shot up, clenching her fists, "but we can't-"

"Don't dare defy my orders, fool," the man behind the screen interrupted with sharpness in his voice, silencing her. He then let out a chuckle, as if standing right beside her and witnessing the female grunt's unusually timid state. "I have more than just eyes everywhere."

"Goldenrod City is out of Team Rocket's jurisdiction. Let the mafia of Goldenrod City put them to the test."

"A Goldenrod mafia?" Yang asked.

"The Goldenrod Gang," the male corrected. "Petty thieves, but large in numbers and power. In time, the 5th key wielder will come out of hiding as well. Be prepared."

"Yes, commander," Yin replied.

As the screen fell dark, the door creaked open, letting in warm orange light.

* * *

Alexis stood in front of a mirror, adopting a new pose by the seconds. Shoppers passed by, unable to turn their heads from the impromptu dance-or so it seemed.

Roy bent down and grabbed his knees, adjusting his eyes to glare at men who glanced at the ranger trainee in all her fashionista glory. The thief ran his hands through his face. _Why is this more tiring than walking a full day through a forest?_ Then he remembered. _I wonder how he's holding up._

"How do I look?" Alexis said in a singing voice, her poses still changing in her new green satchel.

Roy shrugged, and replied, "It's kind of hard to tell when you change your position faster than a hitmonchan's mach punch."

Alexis pouted. "I'll take that as a compliment."

"They aren't the only ones _complimenting_ you."

"What?"

"Nothing," Roy said with a sigh.

"How about this hat for Aster?" Alexis asked, stopping when she remembered. She walked slowly over to the wall Roy leaned against, away from the crowd in the shopping center. Crossing her arms, she averted her eyes to the floor. _He's been so quiet since it happened._ She turned to him, his eyes staring at the ceiling. "You're still thinking about it." Heart pounding, she turned away from the thief. _Why is it still so hard for me to talk to him? It's been forever._

Roy looked at her, his eyes focused on the ranger trainee. "You're not talking about Kai and Aster, are you?"

She gulped, trying to hide her anxiety as she turned to look at him. Quickly, she asked him a question in reverse. "What else is there?"

His piercing gaze lightened up. "Buy it."

"The hat?"

"The satchel."

"O-oh, right. I _knew_ it was a compliment."

Alexis grinned, the thief returning a smirk her way.

His smirk faded as she paced over to the cashier, and his thoughts spaced back up into the ceiling. _Who are you really?_

* * *

"Well if what you're telling me is true, my idiot son really is an idiot son."

"Doduo brain," Aster corrected, a pout on her face as she stared at the webcam on the video screen.

Kyle chuckled, scratching his beard, then began to laugh without restraint. The elder Wexler waved his hand at the screen, trying to apologize over his choked breath to an offended Aster. "I-I'm sorry!"

Aster raised her eyebrows. "What's funny about it?"

"It's just hard to believe Kai actually did something like that," Kyle replied.

"Why?"

"As a kid, Kai always had to fend for himself. I had to make ends meet by working longs hours at the shop, so he managed everything by himself."

"What about his mom?"

Kyle's cheery expression softened into a somber smile. "He always made the time to visit her every day with flowers, even when I couldn't."

Aster had heard the same things before, but only on this day did she understand the implications of Kyle's words. Quietly, she replied, "I see."

"Even today, it's hard for me to be at the hospital with him."

"I'll do it," Aster said, her suddenly cheery smile catching Kyle by surprise. "I'll just have to knock sense into him twice-once from me and once from you!" She giggled at the very thought of Kai's angry expression.

"You go do that now," Kyle told her, waving goodbye as Aster disconnected from her end. He sat down, smiling silently. _Are you seeing this, Tess?_

* * *

Jane walked into Kai's room, white and lifeless like the others. Immediately, she noticed he was no longer lying in bed. Now woken up, his eyes shifted between the sling on his right arm and the window next to his bed. _Well, he's awake. That's a good sign_ , she thought.

"How are you feeling?" Jane asked, adjusting her spectacles as she burst into the room and sat down on a chair next to her notes.

"I'm fine," Kai said with a shrug.

She could tell that wasn't the case. _All I have to do is rile him up, and he'll be his old self._ "That was a really stupid thing you did back there. That's the kind of thing I'd expect from an idiot like you."

"What?"

"On top of that, you lost to two losers from Team Rocket. Even I could have taken them down."

"Yeah."

Shocked, Jane silenced herself. _Did he actually just agree with me?_

"Why am I even here?" Kai asked. A silence befell the room immediately afterwards, after which Kai turned his emotionless eyes towards Jane. "Why us?"

"I-I don't know," Jane said, looking down. "I-"

"It's alright," Kai said, looking out the window. "Maybe this is the end."

"What are you talking about?" Jane asked, her hands tightening.

"I think we should go our separate ways here," Kai stated. "I'll go back home and run the shop, you can continue your adventure, and Aster can go back to Liam."

A sharp sting hit Kai's face, and his ears rang. Opening his eyes wide, he saw a distressed Jane with her hand raised. "You need to pull yourself together, idiot. What happened to you 15 years ago doesn't matter _now._ And don't try to lie to me, because I know that's what's been on your mind since the day at the well!"

Kai sat up straight, grabbing his cheek. He then pushed Jane on her shoulder, spacing her back. He clenched his fist and focused his eyes on her. "How you know what it's like?"

"I won't until you open up!" Jane yelled back.

"How would you know what it's like?"

"Know what?!"

"How would you know what it's like to be a murderer?!" Kai shouted, using his good arm to bang against the table next to his bed.

"What-what are you talking about?"

"Right, I forgot you don't know what it means to lose your mother. You're just a nerd without any friends or any relationships!"

Jane clenched her fists, tears welling up on her reddened face. In anger, she slapped Kai across his other cheek and stomped away without another word, slamming the door behind her.

"Ow!" Kai shouted, then he grabbed his stomach. A cold sweat ran down his back. _Why would I say something like that?_

The door quietly opened up again, this time Aster walking in with a pout on her face. She ran up to Kai and slapped him on both cheeks.

"Ow!" the teen exclaimed again. "I'm just a sucker for slaps today."

"Why would you say something like that?"

"I know, I didn't mean to."

"Doduo brain. She doesn't have a mom!"

Kai's eyes widened, and he scratched his head. "Pops is right. I really am an insensitive jerk who can't make friends."

"Wrong again," Aster said with a grin on her face, her finger poking Kai's nose. "You've got 4 right here."

With raised eyebrows, Kai stood up from his bed, stumbling towards the chairs and sitting next to Aster. "The medicine is making my loopy."

"Quit making excuses. I also heard what you said about sending me home and that's not going to happen!" Aster berated.

"But-"

"I can't go back!"

Kai shot up, angry once more. "Aster, I can't take care of you! You're going to get hurt if those Rockets attack again!"

"Nobody has ever done what you did for me, not even Liam!" Aster yelled, grabbing Kai's hand. Tears fell down Aster's cheeks. "You could have died, idiot."

Kai watched on silently, not knowing what he should do next. Aster slowly fell onto his body, and he immediately grabbed her into an embrace, unsure of himself. "I'm not _that_ weak, you know."

"Yeah?" Aster said, her voice cracking. She smiled softly. "You looked kind of stupid out there."

"It won't happen again," Kai said. Aster looked up at the teen boy, a grin on his face.

"Your dad rocks the smile better," Aster replied with a smirk, wiping her face clean.

"Hey now."

"Go find Jane and talk to her, will you?"

"Now?"

Aster pushed Kai. "Yes, _now._ "

Kai rushed out the room, sluggish from the medication but shoulders firm as ever.

Overhearing the sounds of Kai arguing with nurses and running past several objects, Aster couldn't help but smile and exclaim, "Idiot."

* * *

 **Author's Note [10-10-15]:**

And I'm back. Lots of character development in this chapter. This arc itself will have a lot more character development.

Thank you all for your patience! I realize I may not meet the deadlines sometimes, but I'm doing this because I love to do it.

On the other hand, I'm not getting paid or compensated for my time to do this, so there is no need to rush my craft if I feel something is wrong.

R & R, and most importantly, _Enjoy._


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